


The Fallen Guard

by many_fandoms07



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-29 10:44:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 40,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21408898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/many_fandoms07/pseuds/many_fandoms07
Summary: The Avengers meet a new recruit, but little do they know how important she really is...THIS IS NOT INCEST! Guys, I'm done. This is a story where my oc is Bucky's sister. This is the way I had it tagged. Nobody said that you had to read this. Please stop critizizing how I do things. This is a brother sister relationship.Disclaimer: I only own my character and the plot.This is my first time posting on this website but you can also check out my Wattpad. It is the same username and may or may not have the same stories posted.
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is the first Marvel fanfiction that I have ever wrote and shared. It is also posted on my Wattpad, but I don't get very many views and want to see if anyone reads it here. I hope you enjoy!

“Alright class, today’s homework is on page 501 in your geometry textbook. Do questions 1-11 odds and try not to use the back of the book until you are finished.” Peter’s geometry teacher assigned. “Also, as I have said before, some of you will be tutoring freshman in Algebra 1. Will the following students come up to my desk… Peter, Ned, MJ, and Alex.” Peter stood up and walked up to his teacher’s desk with his two friends MJ and Ned. “Alright, so I have assigned each of you a freshman that you will be tutoring. Alex, you have Nya Smith. Ned, you have Jayden Pike. MJ, you have Zaiden Brock and Peter… you have Mel Castilian. You may go.” Mr.Walker, their geometry teacher, gave them their schedules for when they will first start meeting with their students. Peter’s first meeting was Thursday at Starbucks.

Thursday could not have come sooner. Peter walked up to Starbucks and quickly entered the building. He looked around. It was not as busy as any other day would have been. There was a couple near the front window and one female in the back, working on some Algebra homework.

“I guess this must be Mel,” Peter mumbled to himself as he walked to the back of the coffee shop.

“Hey, are you Mel?” He asked hesitantly, worrying that he was asking the wrong person. The girl looked up.

“Yeah, I am. Are you Peter?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah. So, what are we going to work on?” He asked as he sat down next to her.

“Lesson 8.5 with quadratic equations. We just learned this lesson today, but I’m still confused.”

“Alright well…” and Peter went on, explaining how to work the equations and get the correct answer. After about an hour, they ordered a coffee each and some donuts. Then, they started talking.

“So, Peter, what do you do in your spare time?” Mel asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

_Save people_ is what he wanted to say. “I like to take apart machines and make new creations from their parts. I’m also on the decathlon team. What do you like to do?”

“Well, I’m on the guard team. I’m also in choir. I like to read books and that sort of stuff. Most of my time is spent listening to music, reading, and going to guard practice.” She explained. She then went on to explain how there was a difference between color guard and winter guard.

“Well, Mel, it was nice meeting you! How about we meet here after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays?” Peter asked, gathering his stuff and holding the door for Mel.

“That sounds nice, thanks.” Mel and Peter said their goodbyes and headed off in separate directions.

“So,” started Ned as he walked up to Peter at his locker,” how’s your freshman?”

“I like her. She’s nice and pretty smart.” Peter explained.

“Lucky! Zaiden doesn’t know anything and tried to hit on me all day yesterday!” exclaimed MJ.

“Yeah, Jayden wasn’t the best. He wouldn’t let me help him,” said Ned.

“Yeah, well, guess that I got lucky then,” Peter said as he left for first period.

When school let out for the weekend, Peter excitedly ran home, saying hello to Aunt May, then hurriedly did his homework. He then went to Delmar's to get dinner for him and May. When he got home and finished his dinner, he said goodbye to Aunt May as she left for work, then he went out as Spider-man. He patrolled for a bit before he decided that he was going to go to Tony’s house to work on his new suit. When he arrived, Tony was in the lab. Peter changed before going down after him.

“Hey, Mr.Stark!” he cried cheerfully as he came flying down the steps and next to his mentor.

“Hey, Pete! How was school this week?” asked Tony.

“Oh, it was ok. I started tutoring a freshman this week.”

“Really? Well, how did it go?”

“It went pretty well. Her name is Mel, and she’s really nice. She lets me help her and she doesn’t get angry with me. She’s on the high school Winter Guard team. Did you know that there is a difference between color guard and winter guard?” Peter rambled on.

“No, I didn’t.” Tony chuckled. He loved when Peter came over. It was always filled with Peter rambling on about his week and how he went over to Ned’s house and built Lego Star Wars sets. Peter went on, explaining the difference between color guard and winter guard, then talking about the Geometry test that he passed.

Three hours later, Peter has passed out on the couch after altering his new suit. Tony sat in the chair next to the couch, checking social media. He didn’t do it often, only in his very rare downtime when Peter was asleep. Great, he thought, I sound like a dad.

After several months of working with Mel, Peter felt that he had made a new friend. He and Mel had plans to go to his house after school on Tuesday to study. They decided to meet each other at Starbucks, their usual study place, then went from there.

When they got to Peter’s place, Aunt May was ready to greet them.

“Hello! Hi, I’m May! You must be Mel. Oh, I’ve heard so much about you!” she exclaimed as she gave Mel a hug.

“Hey, yeah I’m Mel. I’ve heard so much about you,” Mel said in return.

“Hey, let’s go and study,” said Peter, trying not to let them converse for too long. He grabbed Mel’s arm and pulled her towards his room. When they entered, Mel was in awe.

“Wow! Your room is so cool!” she exclaimed, looking around.

“Not really,” Peter started, “It’s actually very small, and I tend to dirty it up a lot.” They sat down and studied for about 20 minutes before Peter got a phone call.

“Hello?” He asked, not looking at the caller ID.

“Hey Pete, it’s Tony. We need your help.”

“Right now? I’m in the middle of helping Mel.”

“Well, it’s gonna have to wait. Meet me at the park in 30.”

“Alright.” Peter hung up the phone. “Sorry to cut this short, but I have to go.”

“Why?” asked Mel.

“A friend needs my help. It’s urgent,” he explained, not wanting to lie, but also not wanting to give out his true identity.

“OK, well, maybe we can do this again?” asked Mel, a disappointed look on her face.

“Yeah, of course.” Mel grabbed her things and left, heading for her home. Once Peter thought that he was in the clear, he changed and headed to the park.

Mel was disappointed that she couldn’t stay with Peter. She really grew a liking to him. He was the only person that ever paid attention to her. Everyone else either completely ignored her existence or bullied her. She finally reached her house, silently opening the door.

“Hello?” she called quietly. Nobody was home. She was safe. She headed upstairs and finished her homework. Then, she put everything away and fell asleep.

“MELODY RACHELLE CASTILLIAN!! Get down here right now!” Mel woke to the sound of her father yelling for her. She hurried down the hall where her father was standing in the kitchen. He was holding a whiskey bottle in his hand.

“Hey, Melody…” he slurred. He’s drunk, she thought. He slowly came closer, the stench of alcohol emitting from him. She took a step back. “H-hey, dad,” she said wearily.

“You didn’t get more whiskey.”

“I-I can’t dad… I’m only 15…”

“I don’t care. You're going to pay.” He stepped towards her and threw the whiskey bottle at her head. She ducked but was too late and the bottle cut her head open with a loud crash of glass breaking. She fell back, slamming against the wall. Her father then started kicking her in the ribs, pain piercing her sides. After the 4th kick, she was out like a light.

Thursday came, and Peter had told Mel that they were meeting at Starbucks again. When he walked through the doors, he was surprised to see that she wasn’t there. Maybe she’s just running a bit late, he thought. He sat there for an hour, waiting for Mel to show up. He pulled out his phone, dialing her number. It rang, then went to voicemail. This happened the other two times he called. He tried texting her, but she wouldn’t answer him then either. Then, all of a sudden, Steve Rogers walked through the door, doing a double-take as he saw Peter out of the corner of his eye.

“Hey Peter, what are you doing here?” he asked as he sat down across from Peter.

“Well, I’m supposed to help this friend of mine with her homework, but she hasn’t shown up.”

“When was she supposed to be here?” Steve asked, concerned.

“Well, I’ve been waiting for almost an hour. She always beats me here.”

“Have you tried calling her?”

“Yeah, three times. And I tried to text her, but she isn’t answering.”

“Well, let me see your phone.” Peter handed Steve his phone. He took it and found her contact. He then pulled out his phone and typed in her number. He typed away at his phone, then tapped a button, showing Mel’s location.

“Let’s go see if she’s ok,” he said as he stood up. Peter grabbed his things and followed Steve out of the door. After about 20 minutes of running, they finally arrived at an old run-down apartment complex. Steve pocketed his phone, knocking on the door. There was silence. He knocked again. Still silence. Then, they heard a groan.

“Hello?” he called out. There was silence, then Steve had had enough. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He stepped back, then body slammed the door so that it would open. The door slammed against the wall as Steve walked in. Peter and Steve both faltered back when the stench of whiskey hit them. The house was littered with empty bottles of the foul liquid. They dove deeper into the house, going to the kitchen first. What they saw surprised them. There on the floor next to the hallway lay Mel, bruised and beaten. There was blood running down the side of her face. She was barely breathing, every movement hurt. She groaned again, barely coming to when Steve ran over to her. He laid his hand on her arm, taking in her appearance.

“Mel!” Peter exclaimed as he ran over towards her. He landed next to Steve, awestruck.

“Hey, Mel, can you hear me, sweety?” Steve asked gently. There was no response. “We have to get her out of here. Who knows when whoever did this will come back. Ok, Mel, I’m going to pick you up, alright?” Steve asked as he picked her up as gently as he could. She gasped and cried with pain, he ribs crying in agony with every little movement. “I know, honey. I’m sorry.” Steve apologized to her. “Peter, I need you to call Bruce and have him meet us at my place as soon as possible.” Peter pulled his phone out and called Bruce, explaining the situation.

“He said that he is on his way, but he wants to take her to the compound to get a full look at the damage.”

“Alright, well, let’s get Mel to my apartment first.” Steve and Peter left the building, quickly making their way to Steve’s apartment. When they arrived, Doctor Banner was already there, getting things ready while talking to Mel.

“Is this her?” Bruce asked, running over to Steve.

“Yeah.”

“Bring her over here and lay her down on the bed gently.” Steve walked into his guest bedroom and laid her down on the bed gently. Doctor Banner quickly examined her. “It appears that she has been hit in the head with a glass bottle. I think she might have a minor concussion. I think that she might also have a few broken ribs. I want to take her back to the compound though,” he explained.

“Alright, let’s go.” Steve picked Mel back up as him, Bucky, Bruce, and Peter all left and piled into Bruce’s car. Peter and Bruce sat up front while Steve and Bucky sat in the back with Mel laying across the seats and onto them.

“What happened?” asked Bucky. Steve then continued to explain the situation while Peter kept glancing back to see if anything had happened before he fell asleep, exhaustion finally catching up to him.

When they finally arrived back at the compound, Steve ran in with Mel as Doctor Banner led the way. Bucky had waited for Peter and walked behind them. They reached the medbay where Steve had laid Mel down on a bed so Bruce could get an x-ray of her ribs.

“Yep, she has a few broken ribs. I count 4 broken, 2 sprained, and 1 bruised. I’ll give her some medicine to help with the pain when she wakes up.” Bruce explained, having Steve pick her up and move her over to a cot. Bucky looked over at Peter, leaning against the wall, using all he had to stay awake.

“You need a rest,” Bucky said, laying his right hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“No, I’m fine,” Peter insisted.

“He’s right Peter,” Steve cut in, “you look tired. Go and get some rest.” Peter finally gave in and went up to his room up in the compound.

“We should all get some rest. JARVIS, let us know when Mel wakes up,” Bruce said to the AI.

“Of course, Doctor Banner.”

“You two go ahead, I think I’m gonna stay down here,” Steve said, taking a seat next to Mel. The other two nodded and left, going to bed.

Steve woke up to a groaning next to his head. He opened his eyes, taking a second to realize where he was. He was in the medbay, laying his head down on the cot of one of Peter’s friends. He sat up, popping his back as he did so. He looked over at Mel, seeing her writhe in her sleep, a look of pain across her face. Just then, Doctor Banner came in, taking a look at her.

“What happened?” he asked, walking over and grabbing a bottle filled with pills.

“I don’t know, I just woke up.” Bucky walked in.

“Is everything ok?” he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Yeah, Buck, she’s ok,” Bruce replied. He walked over to Mel, laying his hand on her forehead. “It seems as though she is running a fever. JARVIS, what is her temperature?”

“101.3 sir.” Doctor Banner sighed. He moved his hand from her forehead to her forearm.

“Mel, honey, can you wake up for me?” She moaned, still writhing in her sleep. Steve and Bucky came over as well. “Mel, you need to wake up.” Steve went to the other side of her and laid a hand on hers.

“Mel, can you wake up? We have medicine to help with the pain,” Steve tried to wake her. She stopped moving, facing Steve. “Come on, kiddo. Wake up.” She groaned, face contorting with pain. She then started to mumble.

“I think she’s waking up,” said Bucky. She continued to mumble, Steve trying to hear what she was saying,

“No… don’t… only… 15…” she continued.

“Hey, Mel, wake up,” Steve edged on. She fluttered her eyes open, then slammed them shut when the light hit her.

“JARVIS set lights to 15%,” Bruce instructed. The lights suddenly dimmed. “There, now open your eyes.” Mel opened her eyes and blinked. She looked around seeing three strange men in a place that she did not recognize. She then started to panic. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched. She shot up.

“Whoah, hey, calm down. It’s alright. We won’t hurt you,” Steve said as he pushed Mel back down. She reached up and grabbed her chest, breathing heavily. Her eyes widened, her breath hitching.

“Can’t… breathe…” she gasped out. Bucky ran and grabbed a vaccine. He quickly made his way over to Mel, inserting the needle into her forearm. As he gave her the vaccine, she started blacking out.

“Come on kiddo, don’t blackout on me,” Bucky said, looking worried. He watched as Mel could finally breathe again. She slowly relaxed, calming down and taking deep breaths.

“There you go, just breathe,” Bruce instructed. Steve grabbed her hand. When she finally calmed down, Steve introduced themselves.

“I’m Steve, and this is Bucky and Bruce,” he introduced as he motioned to them. Mel just looked over at them.

“Here, take this. It will help with the pain,” Bruce said, handing Mel the medicine and a small cup of water.

“Don’t worry, we aren’t going to hurt you,” Bucky encouraged. She looked at him, then slowly downed the medicine.

“How are you feeling?” asked Steve.

“Not… good…” she said slowly. She still looked afraid of them.

“JARVIS, can you retrieve Peter?” asked Steve.

“Right away, Mr. Rogers.”

"What’s wrong?” asked Bruce.

“Everything hurts,” she moaned. Suddenly, Peter entered the medbay.

“Hey, Mel. How’re you doin’,” asked Peter as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Mel looked over at him, smiling before wincing. “Are you ok? What’s wrong?” he asked, suddenly awake.

“Don’t… feel… good…” she moaned. Bruce laid his hand back on her forehead.

“I think her fever is rising.”

“Is she ok?” asked Peter.

“She should be fine,” explained Doctor Banner.

“Why don’t you all go back to bed. I’ll stay here with her,” said Bucky.

“Are you sure?” asked Steve.

“Positive.” They all nodded and headed to bed. Bucky sat down next to Mel.

“Bucky?” asked Mel. He looked over to her.

“What, kid?”

“Why am I here?” she asked weakly.

“Well, Peter and Steve found you at your house. You were barely breathing, and then they brought you here,” he explained. She then gasped, writhing in pain. “What’s wrong?” asked Bucky.

“Hurts…” she groaned.

“What hurts?”

“Head and… sides.” Bucky stood up, picking Mel up slightly and laying her on top of him on the bed. He then started rubbing her head.

“It’s alright, just go back to sleep,” Bucky soothed. After a few minutes, her breathing evened out and she was asleep. Bucky sighed, going to sleep himself.

“Buck… Bucky, wake up.” Bucky woke up to someone shaking his right arm. There was a great weight on him, and it was very warm.

“Huh?” he asked, shifting.

“You need to wake up. It’s time for breakfast,” Steve shook him again. Bucky tried to sit up when he realized that he still had Mel on top of him. He moved as gently as he could so he would not wake or harm her. “What happened last night?” asked Steve.

“I think that talking was hurting her too much. She was in pain,” he explained. Steve nodded, and they both headed upstairs. When they arrived in the dining room, everyone looked over at them.

“So did sleeping beauty get his beauty rest?” asked Tony, taking a sip from his coffee.

“Whatever, Stark,” Bucky growled. “For your information, I was watching over Peter’s little friend downstairs.”

“What?” asked Tony.

“Well, Mr.Stark, I was waiting for a friend of mine yesterday so we could study, but she never showed up. Steve was there and we tracked her phone. She was at home, but she wasn’t ok, so Doctor Banner brought her here,” Peter explained.

“How come I didn’t know about this?” asked Mr. Stark. “We didn’t come here until late last night. Everyone was asleep,” explained Steve. “So where is she?” asked Wanda. “She’s down in the medbay. She was still asleep when we left,” Bucky said. They all sat down and talked more over breakfast.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 2! Thanks for coming back to read the second part. There are 13 more to go after this. I decided to update twice today just because I have time.

“So do you think you girls could decorate a room for her if we can clean one out?” asked Steve.

“We would love too,” said Pepper. “Just try to see what she likes so we can base her room off of what she likes.”

“Well, she’s on the high school winter guard team,” Peter said. “She also likes to draw and write.”

“Thank you, Peter,” Wanda said. Bruce stood up.

“I’m going to go check on her.” He walked down the hall and to the elevator.

When he arrived downstairs, Mel was awake and staring off into space. “Hello, Mel. How are you feeling?” Bruce asked. She shrugged. “Are you feeling better than you did last night?”

“A bit,” she said quietly.

“Does anything hurt?”

“Yeah. Everything hurts, but it’s mostly just my head and sides.”

“Alright, here, take this,” Bruce handed her some medicine and a small cup of water, ”Do you mind if I take a look at you again?” She swallowed the medicine and downed the water.

“I don’t mind.” Bruce then looked her over, looking for more injuries.

“Well, Mel, if you’re up to it, I think you could be able to stand within the next few days.” Just then, Steve, Bucky, Natasha, Wanda, and Pepper walked in.

“Hey, Mel,” greeted Peter.

“Hey, Peter.”

“Mel, these are our friends Natasha, Pepper, and Wanda,” Steve introduced.

“Hello Mel, how are you?” asked Pepper.

“I’ve been worse,” admitted Mel.

“Are you up for eating?” asked Bucky.

“I guess.”

“I’ll go and get her something to eat,” said Wanda, turning and heading to the kitchen.

“How is she?” asked Steve, pulling Bruce to the side away from everyone else.

“Well, I think that if she’s up to it, she’ll be ready to stand and walk within the next few days. Her fever did rise, though. It’s 101.6.” They returned to the group just as Wanda came in with a small tray with a few pancakes, a bowl of syrup, butter, and a fork. There was also a glass of orange juice.

“I hope you like pancakes, Mel,” commented Wanda.

“I do,” said Mel.

“We’ll leave you to eat,” said Bruce. “Just let JARVIS know if you need anything.”

“Who’s JARVIS?” she asked.

“Jarvis is our AI,” Pepper said.

“Hello, Miss Mel. I am JARVIS. I can help you with anything,” Jarvis spoke up.

“Hello?” Mel said confused. Everyone laughed as they left the room. She was suddenly alone.  _ But I don’t like to be alone, she _ thought. She slowly ate her breakfast, amazed at how well it tasted. Pepper then walked back into the room.

“Hello, Mel. Are you finished?” she asked. Mel nodded. Pepper set aside the tray. “Well, Natasha, Wanda, and I are in charge of decorating your room. I just wanted to know what you liked.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Mel said quietly.

“But we want too. You can’t go back to your home. We can’t let you get hurt again.”

“It’s not the first time.”

“It isn’t?” Pepper asked, concerned.

“Forget I said that,” Mel shyed down into her bed.

“Honey, you’ve been beaten before?” Pepper edged.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m fine.”

“Mel…”

“I said that I don’t want to talk about it!!!” She exclaimed, jumping out of bed.

“What’s going on in here?” asked Steve as he and Bucky ran into the room.

“Mel? What are you doing out of bed?” asked Bucky as he ran over to her. She had started to sway, falling to the floor.

“Go away! Get away from me!” She yelled, trying to shove Bucky off of her. He grabbed her when she suddenly kicked him off of her. Now, because Bucky was a super-soldier, he wouldn’t have budged. But he did. He fell back from the force of her kick and she hopped up, swaying even more. Steve ran over to her while Pepper went over to Bucky.

“Mel, you need to calm down,” Steve said as he reached out to grab her.

“Don’t touch me!” She screamed, running past Steve. She bolted down the hall and into the elevator. She pressed a random button and sighed. She was light-headed and swaying. The door opened and she took off running. Mel tried to run up a flight of stairs, but there was a sudden force pulling her down. Her foot slipped out from under her and she fell, hitting her head on the railing. Her vision suddenly blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's chapter 2! I hope you enjoyed and I plan on posting part three tomorrow, possibly during 1st-period study hall.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you have a good day/night! Thank you for coming back or sticking with me through this story. Here's part three, hope you enjoy!

Peter was in his room working on the homework that he was supposed to have for school that day, which he didn’t go to, when he heard a great commotion. There was yelling and screaming coming from below him. He stood up and walked to his door. He poked his head out to see Mel trying to run up the stairs. He knew that she wasn’t supposed to be out of bed, so he shot a web at her to keep her from going any further. As he pulled her back, her foot slipped out from under her and she hit her head on the railing.

“Oh my gosh!” Peter exclaimed. “Mel!” Just then, Steve, Bucky, and Pepper came running out of the elevator. They looked past Peter and saw Mel.

“What did you do?” asked Bucky, frustrated.

“I don’t know! I heard yelling and then I came out here. Mel was running up the stairs and I knew she wasn’t supposed to be out of bed so I shot a web and tried to pull her back but she slipped and hit her head and now she won’t wake up!” Peter ranted in one breath.

“It’s ok Peter, you did good,” Pepper assured him, walking over and wrapped an arm around him. Steve and Bucky had run over to Mel.

“Mel, hey, Mel, can you hear me?” asked Steve, placing a hand on her back. There was no response.

“Mel?” asked Bucky. He gently picked her up and laid her down on the couch. Her head was bleeding from where she hit it on the railing.

“JARVIS, get Bruce,” Bucky commanded.

“Yes, Mr. Barnes.” Tony then walked into the room.

“What’s all the commotion?” he asked, striding over to where they were, planting a kiss on Pepper’s cheek.

“Mel started freaking out and took off running. I think she hit her head again,” Steve said.

“Guys, what’s wrong?” asked Doctor Banner as he came running in.

“It’s Mel. She started freaking out and we think she hit her head again,” Bucky explained this time. They moved away so that Bruce could get a proper look at her. He examined her head.

“She most definitely hit her head pretty hard,” Bruce observed. “And she might have made her concussion worse. She messed up her ribs, man, that’s gonna hurt.”

“When is she gonna wake up?” asked Peter, worried that she wouldn’t wake up because of him.

“Any time now,” Bruce said. “Steve, go get a glass of water. Bucky, take her back downstairs and make sure she won’t get out of bed.” They nodded and went their separate ways.

Bucky had taken Mel back down to her bed. “Why did you do that?” he asked quietly, even though she probably couldn’t hear him. He laid her down and pulled the blanket up to her chest. “How did you manage to push me off of you?” Then Steve came down with a glass of water.

“How is she?” he asked, placing the cup of water on the table and walked over to Bucky.

“She’s still out,” he said. She then started to mumble incoherent words. “She’s waking up.” She woke up with a start, bolting up out of bed. The quick movement made her ribs cry out in protest and her vision darkens, she groaned and fell back on the bed.

“Don’t move, Mel. You’ll hurt yourself even more. Here, drink this,” instructed Steve as he grabbed the water. Bucky placed a hand under her back to help her sit up, eventually getting up and sitting next to her so she could lean on him. Steve placed the water to her lips. She took a few sips, then turned her head away. Bruce came in.

“Good, you’re awake.” He walked over and grabbed a light. “Ok, Mel, Look at my shoulder, ok? Just stare at it.” He shined the light in her eyes. “Yep, her concussion is much worse. Just keep her in bed.” Bruce walked over and poured liquid medicine for Mel. “Have her take this.” He handed it to Bucky.

“Here, Mel, drink this,” said Bucky as he placed the small cup to her lips. She sipped it, then spat it out and gagged. Steve quickly grabbed the nearest container, which was a small waist bin and placed it on her lap. She threw up the medicine and her breakfast this morning into the bin. When she was done, she fell back against the bed and cried. Steve rushed over to her other side and wiped her mouth off with a wet rag. 

“JARVIS, what is her temperature?” Steve asked, placing a hand on her forehead.

“102.3, Mr. Rogers,” said JARVIS. “Would you like me to alert Mr. Parker?”

“No thank you,” Bucky said, placing Mel’s head on him, rubbing her arm.

“Let’s try this,” Bruce said as he grabbed a few pills. “Take these.” He handed them to Bucky who helped Mel sit up and take the pills with some water. She kept them down. “We need to get her temperature down. Place this on her forehead.” He handed Steve a wet rag. He placed it on her forehead.

“JARVIS, scan her,” Steve instructed.

“Miss Mel has a mild concussion, 4 broke ribs, 2 sprained, 1 bruised, and high temperature. But, it seems as though something powerful is running through her system, and it is not the medicine.”

“What is it?” asked Bruce.

“I am not sure.”

“I’m gonna take a blood sample,” said Bruce as he gathered all of his materials and walked over to Mel.

“What’s that?” she asked worriedly, eyeing the needle.

“I’m just gonna take a small blood sample,” Bruce said gently.

“No!” she said, bolting up. “No, don’t!”

“It’s ok, it won’t hurt,” Steve encouraged, sitting on the side of the bed.

“No, get it away! Get it away from me!” she cried, trying to get away from Bruce, but Bucky got a hold of her. She kicked and tried to get out of Bucky’s grip, but she was losing. “Please, get away!” Then, she was gone. Bucky fell off the bed and looked around. Mel was gone.

“Where did she go?” asked Bucky.

“She disappeared!” Bruce exclaimed, amazed and surprised at the same time. Steve helped Bucky up off of the floor.

“We have to find her,” said Steve. “She is in no shape to be alone.”

Mel had gotten away from the man with the needle… Bruce, his name was Bruce. She had teleported onto the top of a hill not to far from the compound.

“I need to leave before they find me,” she said to herself. She stood up, then quickly fell back to her knees. The world was spinning. She tried teleporting home and into her bed, and she succeeded, but it took so much of her energy that she blacked out when she arrived.

She woke up with a splitting headache. She groaned. “What happened?” she asked herself. Then she remembered. Her dad hit her again, then she was in a strange place with strange people. She remembered Peter being there, but she didn’t see him much. Mel rolled over and pulled her phone off the charger. The blinding light showed that it was Saturday.  _ Guess that I missed a few days of school, _ she thought to herself. Her phone started to ring. The caller ID said that it was Peter.  _ Oh no. _ She didn’t answer. After about 10 minutes, the phone rang 4 other times and she didn’t answer, falling into a fitful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's chapter 3! I hope you enjoyed it and like the story enough to continue to follow up on it. I have 12 more chapters to post, so please stay tuned. I will update this story at least once a day until I have published the whole book. In the meantime, goods days!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I would like you all to know that I have another avengers book out that I posted this morning. It is called Loki's Queen. It s a reader insert where the reader is 15. Please go and read it. I would also like to thank everyone who has read this story and stuck with it. It means a lot to me. Well, here is chapter 4!

When Peter found out that Mel had left, he tried calling her several times, but no one answered. “Have you found her?” he asked quickly, running over to Steve, Bucky, and Bruce.

“No, Peter, why don’t you go over there and calm down while we try to find her,” Steve said as he turned to Peter. He guided him over to the couch and sat him down.

“What’s shaken?” asked Tony as he walked in.

“Remember Mel? Yeah, well, she’s off the grid,” Bruce said, not even looking up from where he was working.

“She died?!” he exclaimed.

“No! She just disappeared. She was here one second and gone the next,” Bucky exclaimed, offended that Tony thought that Mel would die under their watch.

“What do you mean?” Tony asked, walking over to them.

“Bruce wanted to get a blood sample, and she freaked out. I grabbed her, and then she sort of teleported away,” Bucky explained.

“Does she have powers?” asked Tony.

“Possibly,” Steve said.

“Let me take a shot at it,” Tony said. “JARVIS, locate Mel.”

“Working on it, sir,” JARVIS said. “She appears to currently be at her home, sir. I advise getting her out of there as quick as you can. Danger seems to be drawing near to her.”

“Let’s go,” Steve said, grabbing his shield and running off. Bucky followed as Tony called a suit. Peter got up to go, but Tony stopped him.

“No, underoos, you’re staying here,” Tony said, stepping in front of him.

“But Mr. Stark! Mel is my friend. I want to help,” he said.

“No, stay here!” Tony instructed.

“What if she doesn’t listen to you? She doesn’t know you, and she doesn’t really trust them. She trusts me, we’ll have a greater chance of getting her back if I come.”

“Fine, let’s go,” Tony groaned. They ran out and made their way to Mel’s house.

Mel’s head was pounding. Her eyesight was blurry and filled with black spots. She groaned as she tried to get up, her ribs screaming in protest. She cried out in pain. She gasped and started to cry. She then could sense a terrible presence coming towards her, but her room was empty. The sense continued to increase, but she saw nothing. Mel knew that she wouldn’t be able to defend herself, so that made her even more worried. She then heard the door open. Her heartbeat quickened, along with her breathing. Then the footsteps stopped. She heard a great commotion in the room next door. There was running, then her door slammed open and a man in all black walked in. He came over and grabbed her in a chokehold. The strange man pulled her up and slammed her against the wall twice. She screamed out in pain and terror.

“Leave her alone!” commanded someone in the doorway. The man spun around, pulling Mel close and pulling a knife to her throat. She looked up and saw that Iron man, Spiderman, Captain America, Bucky, and Bruce was standing in the doorway. “Put the knife away.”

“Move and I’ll kill her,” the strange man said. The knife came closer to her.

“Give us the girl,” Bucky threatened, hand gripping his own knife. 

“Never,” he growled.

“Guess we have to do it the hard way, Underoos!” Iron man called. The man holding Mel quickly cut her before Spiderman webbed the knife away from him. He then webbed him up as Bucky and Bruce went for Mel and Iron Man and Captain America went for the man. 

“It’s ok, Mel,” Bucky soothed, grabbing her. She screamed and tried to pull away from him, not knowing that it was Bucky and Bruce that hand came over to her. “We’ve got you now.” Her pushing became weak, and she eventually stopped trying to escape Bucky.

“Sir, you need to get out of there, the place is about to be destroyed,” JARVIS said. As they shot up to get out, the place turned to dust. The walls collapsed and the roof caved in. Tony grabbed Peter and pulled him under him so that he would not be crushed. Steve hid under his shield. Bruce turned into the Hulk. Bucky, on the other hand, tried to cover Mel, but she was gone, again. A part of the ceiling fell on top of him and he blacked out.

“Bucky, come on bud, wake up.” Someone was talking to him, laying a hand on his right shoulder. He could feel something wet running down his face. 

“He’s bleeding quickly, we need to get him back to the compound.”  _ Who is bleeding? Is everyone ok? _

“Ok?” he asked.

“What’s that?” asked someone else.

“Everyone… ok?”

“Yeah, buddy. We’re all ok. We’re gonna take you back to the compound,” Steve said, helping him sit up slowly. 

“Mel?” he asked, opening his eyes and looking around.

“We’re looking for her, come on,” Bruce said as he pulled Bucky up and towards a car waiting for them. Bucky would have argued, but his head hurt so bad that he didn’t. As Bruce drove off, Tony, Peter, and Steve continued looking for Mel.

“Mel!” called Peter, rushing around and looking for her. Then, the floor caved in next to Tony. Someone screamed.

“Help! It’s crushing me!” someone cried. Tony flew down and saw that Mel was being crushed under the weight of the building.

“Get down here! She’s trapped!” Tony yelled up to Steve and Peter. They made their way down to them. “Peter, Steve and I are going to lift the building up off of her. We need you to pull her out.” Peter nodded. Steve and Tony lifted the building as he pulled Mel out. Blood covered almost all of her lower half.

“We need to get her out of here before she bleeds out,” Steve said, rushing over to where Peter was holding her.

“I’ll take her back,” Tony said, picking her up and flying as fast as he could to the compound.

“This is all my fault,” whispered Peter.

“What, no! Why would you think that Peter?” asked Steve as he bent down beside Peter.

“I tried being friends with her, but with me being Spiderman, I put her in danger.”

“Peter, this wasn’t your fault. We think that she might have powers, son, so it could have been for different reasons,” Steve reassured. “Come, let’s go back to the compound.” They stood up and made their way to the compound.

“Bruce!” yelled Tony as he ran with Mel. “Bruce, help!” Doctor Banner ran into the hall, took one look at Mel, then quickly made a bed for her.

“Lay her here and use this to try and stop the bleeding,” he said as he handed Tony a towel. He took the towel and applied pressure to her leg. “Mel, can you hear me?” asked Bruce as he laid a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Atta girl, now, stay awake for me, alright?” asked Bruce. She tried to laugh, but it turned into a coughing fit. “Be easy on yourself now, don’t want you to get hurt any more than you already have.”

“There’s your blood sample,” she joked weakly. Bruce smiled.

“Do you mind?” he asked. She shook her head. He grabbed a vile and collected some of her blood, then began stitching her up.

“Bruce,” Mel called weakly,” m’ tired.”

“I know, kiddo,” he looked up at her. “Try to stay awake, though. You’ve lost too much blood and we can’t risk you sleeping.” He went back to stitching her up. Steve and Peter ran in.

“How’s Mel?” asked Peter.

“How’s Bucky?” asked Steve.

“Bucky is alright. He’s over there,” pointed Bruce. “He’s suffering from a huge wound to the head. He has a concussion, but he’ll be fine within a few days.”

“Peter,” whispered Mel.

“Hey, Mel, are you ok?” asked Peter as he walked over to her and Steve walked over to Bucky.

“No.” Peter sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. 

“Don’t let her sleep, Peter,” instructed Doctor Banner. “We can’t risk letting her sleep.” Mel laid her head on Peter’s shoulder.

“Ok,” Peter responded, looking down at her.

“JARVIS, send Pepper down with new clothes for Mel,” said Bruce.

“Miss Potts is not here, Doctor Banner. Would you like me to send Wanda down instead?” asked JARVIS.

“That works.” Bruce pulled out the materials to form a cast around the fresh stitches in Mel’s leg.

“Mel, I’m gonna cast this leg up so that you don’t walk on it or mess up the stitches, ok?” Bruce explained.

“Ok.” As Bruce applied the cast, Wanda walked in with fresh clothes for Mel.

“Hello, Mel. I brought you new clothes,” said Wanda, placing the clothes on the table next to them. Mel looked at her.

“Thanks,” she whispered. 10 minutes later and Bruce was done with the cast.

“If you don’t mind, Wanda, will you help Mel get dressed?” he asked.

“Of course, but you’ll need to leave,” she said, grabbing the clothes. Steve closed the curtain around Mel as Peter and Bruce left. “Ok, sweetheart, let’s get you out of those clothes,” Wanda said as she helped Mel get dressed.

“Are you done?” called Bruce.

“Yeah, you can open the curtain now,” replied Wanda. Bruce opened the Curtain and came in with a pair of crutches.

“I figured that if you wanted to walk around, you’ll need these, but for now, I’m gonna hook you up to a few things so you can sleep and we’ll know that you’ll be ok, alright?” asked Bruce. Mel nodded. He placed the crutches next to her bed and hooked her up to a few machines. “Now get some rest,” he said as he walked out of the room.

“Banner, wait,” called Bucky.

“Yeah, Bucky?” Bruce said as he turned around.

“Bring me closer to Mel.” Bruce nodded and walked over to his bed, pushing it so that he was right next to Mel. “Thanks,” he said, looking down at Mel’s leg.

“No problem.” Then Doctor Banner left. After a few minutes, both Bucky and Mel were out like a light.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'd just like you to know that there is a slight depression-related comment said in this chapter, so don't say that I didn't warn you.

Mel woke up 6 hours later feeling a bit tired still. But she was hungry and alone. She looked around and saw the crutches beside her, so she sat up and tried using them. After a few tries, she finally got the hang of it and made her way to the elevator. She hit a random button and waited. The elevator dinged and when it opened, she saw a strange man in a kitchen. He looks familiar, she thought. She made her way over to him slowly.  
“H-Hello?” she asked. The man turned over to look at her.  
“Hey, you must be Peter’s friend. I’m Tony. Are you hungry?” he introduced.  
“Actually, yeah, thanks,” She said as she went and sat on the island.  
“So, you feelin’ any better?” he asked.  
“A-a bit, yeah. Everything hurts, though,” she admitted.  
“JARVIS, ask Bruce if Mel can have some ibuprofen,” he told JARVIS.  
“It is alright with him. Miss Mel is allowed 2 ibuprofen,” said JARVIS. Tony gave Mel her medicine and a cup of water. He fixed her some waffles and placed them in front of her.  
“Eat up, kiddo, you’ll need it,” he said as he sat next to her.  
“Thank you,” she said as she ate. When she was done, Mr. Stark placed her plate in the sink and sat back down next to her.  
“So, Mel, do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Steve, Peter, and Bruce will be there as well,” asked Tony.  
“I guess,” she said as she stood up. Tony helped her make her way to a small office-like room where he sat her down.  
“JARVIS, get Steve, Peter, and Bruce to come in here,” he said as he sat down across from her pulling out his phone.  
“They are on their way, sir,” said JARVIS. Then the door opened and they entered.  
“Hey Mel, how are you?” Bruce asked.  
“I’m better, thank you,” she responded smiling. Steve and Peter sat on either side of Mel as Bruce sat next to Tony.  
“So, Mel, to start off, how old are you?” asked Tony.  
“14,” she answered.  
“Where are you from?”  
“Indiana. We just moved here.”  
“What grade are you in?”  
“Eighth.”  
“What happened when Steve and Peter found you?” Mel hesitated.  
“You don’t have to answer to anything that you don’t want to, but it would be great if you would,” encouraged Bruce.  
“N-No, it’s fine. Just promise me something,” she said nervously.  
“Of course,” said Peter.  
“D-Don’t make me go back there,” she quivered. Her hands were shaking and her breath was uneven.  
“Why would we do that?” asked Bruce, concerned.  
“B-Because I’m a freak… a danger to everyone else,” she said as she started crying. “Th-that’s why he hits me. I’m a danger and I can’t do anything right.”  
“Who hits you?” asked Steve as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  
“D-dad,” she spoke.  
“Sir, I advise that you let Miss Mel rest before continuing asking her questions. Her heart rate is extremely high,” said JARVIS.  
“Alright, come on, Mel. Let’s get you back downstairs,” said Bruce as he stood up. Steve helped Mel up and gave her her crutches, leading her back downstairs. They walked over to her bed where she sat and curled into a ball sitting upright.  
“Are you ok?” asked Steve as he sat next to her. She nodded. The door opened and Bucky came in with lunch.  
“Hey, guys. I brought lunch,” he said as he walked over to them.  
“Thanks, Buck. Here, Mel, eat this,” said Steve, taking an apple and trying to hand it to Mel. She shook her head.  
“M’ not hungry,” she said quietly.  
“You have to eat. Breakfast isn’t gonna last you forever,” edged Bucky.  
“M’ not hungry,” she said again.  
“You need to eat. Just eat this apple and we’ll leave you alone,” said Steve as he took Mel’s hand and placed the apple in it. She looked at it, lifting it into her mouth. Steve and Bucky jumped when she suddenly chucked the apple across the room, denting the wall.  
“Haven’t you heard of the saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away?” asked Bucky.  
“Yeah, if you throw it hard enough,” she mumbled.  
“Mel, you need to eat to live,” said Steve as he placed his arm around her.  
“Well maybe I don’t want to live anymore,” she whispered as she pulled her knees closer to her.  
“What?! Why would you say that?” asked Bucky, frantic.  
“I don’t like who I am… I don’t like my past…” she choked out, starting to cry.  
“Mel, please, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself. Let’s talk about something else,” said Steve as he pulled her close. He and Bucky then proceeded to tell her stories from when they were younger.


	6. Chapter 6

_ December 16, 1991 _

_ I sat perched upon a tree branch on the side of the road, hidden from the world. The only person that could see me was the winter soldier that sat hidden behind the trees across the road from me. Our target was getting nearer. _

_ “ _ ** _По моему сигналу_ ** _ ,” said the winter soldier. I nodded. “ _ ** _Сейчас_ ** _ !” He rode out in front of them and shot the driver in the head. I jumped down and onto the hood of the car as it hit the tree I was previously hidden in. I then busted the window and pulled out the passenger. The driver crawled out of the car and the winter soldier shot him in the head, killing him. I dragged the passenger over next to the driver so she could see that her husband was dead. She sobbed as I killed her, stabbing her in the back. _

_ “ _ ** _Нет свидетелей_ ** _ ,” I said. _

_ “Нет свидетелей,” the winter soldier repeated. He grabbed what we needed and we left. _

_ December 25, 1991 _

_ “ _ ** _Солдат._ ** _ ” _

_ “ _ ** _Убийство_ ** _ .” _

_ “ _ ** _Уничтожить_ ** _ .” _

_ “ _ ** _Пожар_ ** _ .” _

_“_**_Строительство_**_.”__  
_ _“_**_Словакия_**_.”__  
_ _“_**_Гроза_**__.” The HYDRA man read from a book. My mind went blank, only remembering my HYDRA work.

_ “ _ ** _Готовы соблюдать_ ** _ ,” I said. My mission was to kill. I walked up to my target, ready to kill… _

“No!” I screamed as I shot up in bed, sweating profusely.  _ I don’t want to kill… I don’t want to kill.  _ I started sobbing and screaming as I pulled my knees to my chest.

“Miss Mel, I advise calming down while I retrieve Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes,” said JARVIS.

“NO! Don’t!” I screamed. There was the sound of rushed footsteps coming to my door as the door slammed open.

“Mel! What’s wrong?” asked Bucky as he ran over to her, sitting down and pulling her close.

“Stop! Go away before I hurt you!” She screamed. Steve ran to her other side.

“JARVIS, what’s wrong?” asked Steve.

“It seems as if Miss Mel has had a terrible dream and is on the verge of a panic attack.”

“Woah, Mel, calm down, honey,” said Bucky, trying to soothe Mel. It only made her worse. She started shaking, her vision filling with small black dots.

“Mel, you need to calm down, honey. You’re going to hurt yourself,” said Steve. Both Steve and Bucky could hear her breath quicken and hitch, making it hard for her to breathe.

“Mel, stop, you need to breathe,” Bucky said as he pulled her close to his chest. He placed one hand on her chest firmly and took one of her hands and placed it on his chest. “Hear that?” he asked. She nodded. “Ok, good. Now try to match my breathing.” He breathed loud enough for Mel to hear. After about five minutes, she was finally calm enough that she would not have a panic attack.

“Are you ok?” asked Steve gently. She shrugged still placed firmly against Bucky. “How do you feel?”

“My head hurts and I feel sick,” she whispered.

“Alright, JARVIS, what is her temperature?” asked Bucky.

“99.1, Mr. Barnes.”

“Alright, well your fever isn’t high at all,” said Steve as he grabbed a glass of water, handing it to Bucky. “Drink this, it’ll make you feel better.” She took the cup with shaky hands as Bucky helped her, taking the glass when she was done.

“Try going back to sleep,” said Bucky. She shook her head.

“I don’t want to. I don’t want to go back to sleep,” she said frantically.

“Ok, well, how about we go upstairs and watch a bit of tv?” offered Steve. She nodded. Bucky picked her up bridal style, carrying her upstairs to the couch.

“What do you want to watch?” Bucky asked as he laid down on the couch with her next to him.

“I don't care,” she yawned. Steve sat down on a chair near their heads, turning on  _ The Middle. _ Within the first 15 minutes, both Mel and Bucky were out. Steve turned off the tv and went to bed.

2 hours later, Bucky woke up. The tv was off and Mel was sound asleep next to him. He assumed that Steve had gone to bed. He sat up slowly, picking Mel up and carrying her to his room. He laid her down on his bed and climbed in next to her, falling asleep again.

“JARVIS woke us up late last night. He said that Mel was awake. Then he told us that she was about to have a panic attack.” Bucky heard from across the room. “Buck, you awake?” Someone touched his shoulder. He groaned. “Come on, Buck, wake up.” He slowly opened his eyes and saw Steve and Wanda. Steve turned back to Wanda. “I was hoping you and Pepper could take her out to get some fresh air.”

“Of course. We’ll leave when she wakes up,” Wanda said as she looked down at Mel. Is she alright, Bucky?”

“I don’t know,” he said groggily, sleep still evident in his voice. He got out of bed and looked at Steve. “What do you want?”

“I came to tell you it’s time to eat. Get ready, Wanda and Pepper are going to stay with Mel today,” Steve said. Bucky nodded and left, grabbing clothes to change into.

“Would you like us to go back downstairs with Mel?” asked Wanda.

“No, you’re fine in here,” he said, walking into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and getting dressed. He walked down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Mel woke up feeling slightly better. Her head still hurt, but she no longer felt sick.

“Hello, Mel. How are you feeling?” she heard from beside her. She opened her eyes to see Wanda and herself in a room that she did not recognize. She shot up.

“Where are we?” she asked, frantic.

“We’re in Bucky’s room,” said Wanda calmly. “How are you feeling?”

“Ok, My head hurts, though,” Mel said as she calmed down.

“Alright, well why don’t we go eat some breakfast and get you some medicine,” offered Wanda.

“Sure,” Mel said as she stood up, immediately falling to the ground.

“Oh, Mel, are you ok?” asked Wanda as she helped her up.

“Yeah, I forgot that I can’t walk without crutches.” She stood up fully and Wanda helped her back onto the bed.

“Well, stay here and I’ll go get your crutches,” said Wanda as she left the room. Mel looked around. The room was pretty clean. There was a desk in the back corner that interested her, though. She stood up on one leg and slowly made her way over to the desk, taking a seat in the office chair. There was a picture in the corner of the desk. It had two men and one small child. The child was a girl with short hair cut just by her ear. Then the door opened again.

“What are you doing?” asked Bucky as he walked in, quickly making his way over to Mel.

“N-nothing, just looking at this picture,” she stuttered, motioning to the picture on the corner of the desk. “Who are the people in the picture?” she asked.

“Nobody,” he said as he laid the picture face down. “Why are you over here, you should be eating.”

“Wanda went to get my crutches,” she said quietly. Wanda then walked in.

“Oh, hello Bucky. Mel and I were just about to go eat,” she said as she walked over to them, handing Mel her crutches. She stood up. Mel made her way out of the room and down the hall. “What’s wrong?” asked Wanda.

“Nothing,” said Bucky as Wanda turned to follow Mel. She turned down the hall to see Mel just standing there.

“Mel, are you ok?” she asked, approaching the girl slowly. Mel dropped to the floor, grabbing at her head and screaming. “Mel?!” Wanda dropped down beside her, placing a hand on her back. Mel continued to scream. Bucky came bolting down the hall.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he slid on the floor over to them, looking at Mel.

“I-I don’t know! She was just standing there, then she fell and started screaming,” explained Wanda, panicked.

“Can’t you see into other people’s minds?” asked Bucky.

“Yeah, let me try to do that.” She placed her hand on Mel’s head, closing her eyes. She saw nothing. “I can’t see anything. It’s as if she’s blocked me out.”

“Mel, come here,” Bucky said as he grabbed her and pulled her close to him.

“Make it stop!” Mel cried.

“Make what stop?” he asked. Mel started crying, hiccuping every once and awhile. “Wanda, go get Steve and Bruce.” She nodded, running off. “Mel, you need to tell me what’s wrong.”

“Make it stop, please,” she cried. “It hurts…”

“What hurts?” asked Bucky, pulling her closer.

“What’s going on?” Bruce asked as he ran down the hall with Steve and Wanda, sitting on the ground.

“I don’t know,” admitted Bucky. Mel was clutching Bucky’s arms to her chest, gripping him so tightly that her hands were white.

“Mel, look at me,” said Bruce as he tried to guide her eyes towards him. When she did look at him, her eyes were wild and glossed over. Her face was pale and her breath was short. “She’s hyperventilating.”

“Mel, breathe, honey,” said Steve. That didn’t help. She started to visibly shake.

“Bucky…” she said,” help.” With that, she fell unconscious.

“Mel?” asked Bucky worriedly.

“Bring her back down to the medbay. I’ll put her on some antibiotics and calming meds,” said Bruce, standing up and running off to get her bed ready. Bucky stood up, carrying Mel down to the medbay.

“Can you get her some new clothes?” asked Steve.

“Of course,” Wanda replied, walking off towards her room. Steve followed Bucky down to the medbay. When he arrived, Bucky was placing Mel gently back onto her own bed.

“I know you care for her Bucky, she’ll be fine,” said Steve, placing a hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

“I don’t know why though,” he said.

“What do you mean? It’s perfectly normal to care for someone,” said Steve, looking over at him worriedly.

“I know, but there’s more to that. I feel like I know her… like she was with us in Brooklyn all those years ago,” he trailed off.

“Maybe you’re thinking of her grandparents,” offered Steve.

“Maybe,” he said as he laid down next to her, Steve sitting in a chair next to them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided to post the rest of this story tonight because I keep forgetting to update every morning as I promised. And I need more writing time. I'm also working on a schedule for writing the 4-5 fanfics that I am currently working on. I am mainly focussed on a request someone had for me on my Avengers One-shots, Imagines, and Scenarios book. Hopefully, I can get that done and actually write decently.

Mel walked down the hall, thinking of the picture that she saw on Bucky’s desk.  _ They look familiar,  _ she thought. Suddenly, her head hurt ten times worse. She stopped, standing in the middle of the hallway.

“Mel, are you ok?” she heard from behind her, although it felt as though the voice was hundreds of miles away. She then dropped to the floor, screaming, memories coming back at fatal speeds.

_ August 7th, 1942 _

_ “Happy birthday!” everyone yelled as ‘Mel’ opened the door, smiling in surprise. _

_ “Happy birthday, Ky,” said Steve as he handed her a small wrapped box. She opened it, pulling out a beautiful red handkerchief. Her smile widened, pulling Steve into a tight hug. _

_ “I love it, Steve! Thank you,” she said, letting go. Bucky walked over and pulled a small box out of his pocket. _

_ “Happy Birthday, Baby doll,” he said handing it to her. She opened it to see a gorgeous silver necklace with the guard symbol on it. _

_ “Oh my gosh, Bucky! I love it!” She jumped on him and gave him a huge hug. He took it and helped her put it on. _

_ “Wanna go watch a movie?” asked Steve. She nodded and walked with the two to the theatre. _

_ December 16, 1944 _

_ “It’s ok, baby, I got you,” Bucky said as he cradled Ky against his chest. “I’ve got you. Please don’t cry.” Ky had just found out that the reason that her best friend hadn’t been to school was that she died three weeks ago. She had the flu and it was just too much for her. But what made it worse, other than the fact that her friend died, was that Ky was sick herself. She had a fever of 102.9 and she had thrown up about an hour after this scene right here. _

_ “Why didn’t they tell me?” she sobbed, gripping Buck’s shirt tighter. _

_ “I don’t know, sweetpea,” Bucky said, rocking back and forth. _

_ “Buck, I think I’m gonna be sick,” She said as she took off towards the bathroom. _

_ January 15, 1945 _

_ “Bucky,” Ky asked weakly. “What are you doing?” He approached her, grabbed her by the hair, and pulled her up. _

_ “You work for hydra now…” _

Suddenly, Mel’s vision went black.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!!!! THIS CHAPTER HAS TO DO WITH SUICIDE!!! PLEASE DO NOT READ IF THIS WILL BE A TRIGGER!!!!!
> 
> Please do not read this chapter if this will be a trigger for you.

Mel woke up with a splitting headache. She groaned.

“Mel, are you ok?” she heard from beside her. She moved, feeling something under her. “Does anything hurt?” She nodded. “What hurts?”

“M’ head,” she said quietly, slurring.

“What?” the person asked, not hearing her.

“M’ head,” she said a bit louder.

“Mel, can you look at me, honey,” someone else asked. There are _ too many people here _ . She opened her eyes, closing them quickly when the light was too much for her head.

“JARVIS, lights at 15%. Now try.” She opened them again, relieved that the lights were so dim. “Better?” She nodded.

“Can you swallow this for me?” She looked over to see Steve with a few pills and a small cup of water. She took them with shaking hands and swallowed the pills, handing the cup back to him. “Are you feeling ok?” She shrugged.

“Where’s Bucky?” she asked quietly.

“Right here, babydoll.” She looked up to see that her head was resting on his chest and that his arms were wrapped around her. “I haven’t left.”

“What time is it?” she asked.

“8:30 pm, kiddo,” said Bucky. “You’ve been out all day.”

“What happened?” she asked. Bucky and Steve glanced at each other.

“Do you remember what happened?” asked Steve.

“I think,” she said.

“Bruce thought that you were having a panic attack. You were shaking and screaming, then you blacked out. He came back in a few hours ago, said that you were awake mentally, just sleeping. He told us to let you rest,” explained Bucky.

“Can we watch a movie?” she asked quietly.

“Of course,” said Steve, standing up. Bucky slowly let go of Mel, standing up and stretching. Mel went to get up, but the movement hurt her head too much.

“Let me carry you,” Bucky said, slowly picking her up and bringing her upstairs. “What do you want to watch?”

“I don’t care,” she said, leaning against him.

“How about  _ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone _ , I hear that’s a great movie,” said Steve.

“Ok,” Mel whispered as she was placed gently on the couch.

“Stay here, I’m gonna go get some snacks. Anything in particular that you want?” asked Bucky.

“Orange juice?” asked Mel.

“Ok, but you need to eat, you haven’t eaten at all today,” said Bucky.

“I’ll go make you pancakes, ok?” said Steve. Mel nodded, laying back on the couch. Both men retreated to the kitchen. Bucky returned a few minutes later with a glass of orange juice, popcorn, and a few other snacks.

“You feelin’ ok?” he asked, handing Mel her glass.

“Yeah,” she said, taking a sip of her drink and handing it back to him. He placed it on the small table next to him.

“Is your head any better?”

“A bit, it doesn’t hurt as bad now,” she said, sitting up so Bucky could sit next to her. As Bucky was about to start the movie, Steve walked in with pancakes with syrup and butter at the top.

“Here ya go,” he said, sitting on the other side of her.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, starting to eat. Bucky played the movie and Mel finished her pancakes. Steve took the plate from her and took it to the kitchen, returning with a fuzzy blanket that Pepper had bought just for Mel.

“Here you go,” Steve said, laying the blanket out over her. She pulled it up to her shoulders and leaned against Bucky. After an hour, she was asleep. Bucky looked down to see her asleep against his side.

“Should I take her to bed?” he asked Steve.

“It would be more comfortable,” he said standing up. Bucky nodded, picking her up and carrying her to his room where he fell asleep soon after.

Mel woke up a few hours later. There was a great movement beside her. She opened her eyes to see Bucky thrashing around. “Bucky?” she asked as she sat up. He didn’t wake up. “Bucky?” she asked again, placing a hand on his shoulder. His eyes shot open and he strangled her, throwing her onto the floor. He picked her up by the neck and she couldn’t breathe. She screamed, kicking at Bucky as her vision started fading. She managed to kick him off of her and she ran into the kitchen, looking for a place to hide. She spotted a loose tile in the ceiling, jumping up and moving it, climbing up into the ceiling and replacing the tile. The air duct was right next to her, so she climbed in.

Bucky must have heard her movements, though, because he punched the ceiling, trying to hit her. She scrambled until she found a dead end. She decided that she couldn’t go back, so she stayed right where she was.

Steve heard a loud commotion coming from the kitchen. He sprang up, running to the kitchen to see Bucky punching the roof. “Bucky, stop!” he exclaimed, running over and grabbing Bucky by his arms. After a few tries, he finally snapped out of it. He looked around, wondering why he was in the kitchen.

“What did I do?” he asked. He then realized that Mel wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “Where’s Mel?” he asked, panicked. He looked around frantically.

“I don’t know, Buck, but let’s calm you down first,” Steve said as he led his friend over to the couch. 

Three hours later and they still couldn’t find Mel. “Where could she have gone?” asked Bruce.

“Maybe she did that thing where she just disappears,” said Peter.

“Maybe, but wait, maybe she somehow made her way into the roof,” Steve suggested. He looked up and saw the loose tile. “Peter, go up there.” Peter nodded, climbing up into the ceiling.

Peter saw that the air duct was open, so he crawled inside. He found a dead end, along with a panicking Mel. “Mel!” He exclaimed, rushing over to her and pulling her close. She was freezing. “It’s alright, I got you.” She fought against his grip, thinking that he was Bucky.

“Go away!” she cried, trying to get as far away from Peter as possible.

“Mel, it’s me, Peter,” he said. She looked up at him, then flung herself to him. “I’m gonna take you down, ok?” he asked, careful when he moved to pick her up. She nodded. How he managed to get both of them out of there was beyond her. “Guys, I’ve got her!” He carefully dropped down with Mel, carrying her close to him.

“Thank goodness,” said Steve as he rushed over to them. Peter stopped him.

“She’s scared. We need to tell her what we’re doing,” he said. Steve looked confused until Peter spoke to Mel. “I’m gonna give you to Steve now, ok?” She nodded slightly. Stronger arms wrapped around her.

“It’s ok, Mel, I’ve got you. Wow, you’re cold. Bruce, I’m gonna go get her warmed up,” Steve said as he walked out of the room. He took her to his room, laying her down on his bed. “Stay here, honey. I’m gonna go get something.” He left her there, alone.

She didn’t like staying there alone.  _ What if Bucky comes for me again? _ She thought. She curled up in the very back corner of the bed, burying her head into her knees. She started shaking. “Mel?” Steve walked back into the room with the blanket that she used last night, rushing over to her when he saw her. “What’s wrong?” He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his side. She didn’t look up.

“Don’t leave me,” she said, shivering from the cold.

“I won’t, I’ll stay right here with you,” he said, wrapping her in the blanket. She inched closer to Steve, leaning against him. He picked her up, moving so that they were at the head of the bed. He pulled his blanket up around her. “It’s ok.” He leaned up against the wall, looking down at Mel. She laid her head on his stomach, still shivering from the cold. The door opened.

“Hey, Steve. Is Mel ok if I take a look at her?” asked Bruce, sticking his head in the door. Steve looked down at her.

“Can Bruce look at you to make sure you’re ok?” Steve asked. She shrugged. He walked in. 

“I’m gonna take the blankets off, ok?” he asked. She nodded. He pulled the blankets back, turning to Mel again. “Alright, can you stand?” he asked. She sat up slowly, sliding off of the bed and onto the floor. Steve came over to her, helping her stand up and support her weight.

“M’ sit?” she asked quietly.

“Why, what’s wrong?” asked Bruce.

“Dizzy,” she said, falling back on the bed and burying her face in her hands.

“Does your head hurt?” asked Bruce. She nodded. “Alright, can you look at my shoulder?” he asked as he pulled out a light. She lifted her head slowly, looking at his shoulder. He shined the light in her eyes. “Her concussion is almost gone. She’s just a bit shaken up,” he said to Steve. Mel started shaking. “Ok, Mel, just stay in bed and rest, alright?” She nodded.

“Thanks, Bruce,” Steve said as he sat down next to Mel.

“No problem. Let me know immediately if anything happens,” he said as he left.

“M’ cold,” Mel said as she laid against Steve’s shoulder.

“Alright.” He moved them so that he could pull the blankets around her again. She curled up next to him, laying on his shoulder. “Are you hungry?” asked Steve. She shrugged. “JARVIS, send Tony in with something to eat for Mel,” he told JARVIS.

“Yes, Captain Rogers,” came JARVIS’ voice. Not too long later Tony came in with a plate of toast and a glass of water.

“How’s Little Miss Blondie doing?” he asked as he walked over.

“She’s ok,” replied Steve. “Thanks, Tony.”

“No problem. Let me know if you need anything,” Tony said to Mel. She nodded. Tony left the room.

“Can you sit up?” asked Steve. He sat up and she sat against him. He handed her the food. “Do you wanna watch tv?” She nodded. He handed her the remote, of which she used to turn on  _ The Middle. _ She picked up the toast, slowly pulling the crust off. She nibbled on the edge, slowly eating the 3 pieces of toast. “Why don’t you try sleeping?” Steve said.

“No,” she replied.

“Mel, sleeping will help you feel better.”

“Don’t care,” she said.

“Mel, if you don’t sleep I’ll have to get Bruce to give you a sedative to make you sleep,” Steve warned.

“No.”

“Then go to sleep.”

“No.”

“Alright then,” Steve said. “JARVIS, send Bruce in with a sleeping sedative.”

“Yes, sir.” Bruce came in.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“She won’t sleep,” Steve said.

“Mel, you need to sleep. It’ll help you feel better,” Bruce said as he sat on the bed in front of them.

“Don’t want to,” she whispered.

“Why not?” asked Bruce.

“Might get hurt again,” she said.

“Oh, honey, you won’t get hurt. I’ll be right here,” said Steve. She shook her head.

“Alright, then, will you at least drink some water?” asked Bruce as he handed her the glass. She took a few sips, then handed it back to him.

“Alright, well, if you don’t want to sleep, then you don’t have to,” Bruce said, winking at Steve. He got up and left. She curled herself tighter to Steve’s side as he wrapped an arm around her. Five minutes later, Mel was sound asleep. It was just about time for dinner, but Steve wanted to see Bucky first.

“JARVIS, send Peter in here,” he called. Peter walked in.

“Hey, Mr. Rogers, whatcha need?” he asked.

“Can you stay here with Mel? She doesn’t want to be left alone, but she’s going to be out for a while,” He said.

“Of course,” he said, taking Steve’s place.

“Thanks, Peter.”

“No problem.” Steve left.

“Bucky?” Steve asked as he knocked on Bucky’s door.

“Who is it?” came a quiet voice.

“It’s me, Steve.” The door opened, revealing Bucky. He looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot with bags under them. His hair was a mess.

“Bucky, what’s wrong?” asked Steve as he walked in.

“Nothing,” Bucky replied, sitting back on his bed.

“I know something is wrong, what is it? Does it have to do with Mel?” Steve asked as he sat next to the former Winter Soldier. Bucky winced at her name.

“What did I do?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Steve asked, even though he knew what he meant.

“What did I do to her? Is she hurt?” Bucky asked sadly.

“She has bruises forming on her neck. She’s really scared, Buck,” Steve said sadly.

“It’s my fault,” Bucky whispered, turning his head away from Steve.

“Buck, you know that’s not true,” Steve said. “You know you couldn’t help it.”

“So? I still hurt her and now she’s probably never going to trust me again. She has a good reason to not to. I hurt her and I’m the Winter Soldier. I can’t be trusted.” He started tearing up.

“Hey, now,” said Steve. “She may not trust you now, but I’m sure that with time, she’ll trust you again. Now, she’s asleep in my room. Peter is with her. When she wakes up, I want you to go talk to her. I’ll come with you,” said Steve. “Now, let's go eat.” He stood up.

“I’m not hungry,” Bucky whispered.

“You gotta eat. I’ll bring you something,” Steve said as he walked out of the room. He walked into the kitchen, grabbing two plates, one for him and one for Bucky. He gave Bucky his food first. When he walked in, he was in the shower, so he placed it on his bed. He then walked into his room.

“You can go now Peter, I’ll stay here with Mel. Dinner’s ready,” he said as Peter got up.

“Alright, thank you, Mr. Rogers,” Peter said as he walked towards the door.

“Peter, call me Steve,” Steve smiled as he sat at his desk. Peter smiled and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Mel woke up at one in the morning. Her head and neck were hurting her. She was cold and shivering but sweating at the same time. She felt terrible. She let out a mix between a groan and a cry. There was a movement from beside her.

“Mel?” she heard. “Are you ok? What’s wrong?” She opened her eyes and saw Steve sitting in the chair next to the bed. He looked tired but worried at the same time. When he looked closer, he could see the bruises that had formed around her neck were darkening. He also saw that she was visibly shaking and sweating. Her face was flushed and her eyes were glossy.

“M’ don’t feel good..” she said as she started to cry. Steve laid the back of his hand on her forehead.

“You do feel warm,” he muttered. “JARVIS, what is Mel’s temperature?”

“102.3, sir. Would you like me to retrieve Doctor Banner?” JARVIS asked.

“Yes, please,” Steve said, getting up and sitting next to Mel’s stomach. “It’s ok, honey. Bruce is coming.” He ran his hand through her hair. Bruce came in not to long after in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“What’s wrong?” he asked worriedly, walking over to the chair Steve was previously in.

“She’s running a fever,” explained Steve. “Her temperature is 102.3.”

“Alright. Mel, honey, do you feel sick? Like you might throw up?” asked Bruce, feeling her forehead.

“Don’t know,” she said.

“Alright, does anything hurt?” Bruce asked.

“My head and my neck, and I’m cold,” she said.

“Alright, well, can you breathe ok?” Bruce asked.

“Sometimes,” she said.

“Can I take you down to the medbay?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah,” she said.

“I’ll carry you,” said Steve. He picked her up gently, taking her and sitting her down on a bed in the medbay.

“Mel, I need to feel to see if there is any damage to your vocal cords or esophagus. I'm going to feel around, but it might sting. Is that ok with you?” asked Bruce.

“Don't hurt me too much,” she said quietly. Bruce nodded. He felt around. Mel whimpered a few times, but other than that, she didn’t do too much. 

“Well, you’re fine as far as this goes. I think you might just have trouble breathing because you panic,” said Bruce.

“Probably,” she said.

“Here’s some medicine for the fever, now all you can do is drink plenty of fluids, rest, and eat, alright,” said Bruce. Mel nodded.

“Let’s go back upstairs,” Steve suggested as he picked Mel back up and carried her to his room. “Before too long, Pepper, Wanda, and Nat should be done with your room. It’ll be right across from Bucky and me, so we can always come if you need us,” he explained. He laid her down. “Can I go get you some water and something to eat? That medicine requires food,” he asked.

“Yeah,” Mel said hesitantly. Steve gave a reassuring smile and left the room. She lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes.  _ I can’t fall asleep, Steve will be back soon. But I’m so tired… _

“Mel? Sweetheart, you need to eat, then you can sleep. I promise,” Steve said as he laid his hand on her shoulder. She groaned, sitting up. He handed her a glass of water, of which she took a few sips out of before handing it back to Steve. “I brought back an apple. It’s something small,” he said as he handed it to her. “Do you want to watch tv?” She shrugged. He handed her the remote and she turned on  _ The Middle. _ She ate her apple slowly and threw the core into the trash.

“Steve,” she asked.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“Where’s Bucky?” Steve was confused as to why she asked.

“In his room. Why?”

“Just wondering. Steve?”

“Mhm.”

“Why does Bucky hate me?” she asked hesitantly. Steve was taken back.

“Honey, he doesn’t hate you,” he tried to explain. “It’s just… he has a bad history and it comes back to him through nightmares.”

“What happened?” she asked, looking at him Steve debated telling her.

“It’s complicated…” Steve said. “We’ll talk about it another time. Now, get some rest.” Mel nodded, laying down and falling asleep.

Mel woke up seven hours later. There was talking coming from beside her. She stretched, yawned, and looked to see who was talking. Steve and Tony were over by the door. She sat up, trying to hear what they were saying.

“It’s not like she’s going to destroy everything, Tony,” said Steve.

“I don’t watch kids,” argued Tony.

“Come on, please. She’s most likely going to sit around. She needs to rest anyway.” Steve looked over to see that she was listening to them. “Oh, good morning, Mel.” He smiled and walked over to her. “How are you feeling?” He felt her forehead.

“Better,” she said, looking up at him.

“Well, that good! Listen, Some of the others and I have to run some errands today, so you’re going to stay with Tony. Is that ok?” he asked, afraid that she wouldn’t want to stay.

“Sure,” she said smiling. Steve smiled as well.

“Great! Well, let’s bring you down to the medbay so Bruce can take that thing off of your leg, then we’ll go get breakfast,” said Tony, changing his mind about watching Mel. She smiled. Steve picked her up and brought her down to the medbay.

“Hello, Mel. Are you feeling any better?” Bruce asked. Steve sat her down.

“Much, thank you.”

“Well, good, good. Now, let’s get that cast off of your leg. Just place it up here. Now, this won’t hurt. Trust me,” said Bruce as he brought out the giant machine to cut the cast.

“Ok,” she said, watching every movement Bruce made. He was right, though. It didn’t hurt.

“There you go! You should be able to walk now,” he said, smiling. Mel smiled as well.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” Mel stood up and tried walking to the door, but her leg gave out. She stumbled.

“Whoah!” Steve chuckled, pulling her back up.

“I’m ok,” she said, trying again. She didn’t fall.

“Ok, well, I need to go. I think Tony is in the kitchen. Call me if you need anything,” he said as he started to walk away.

“Wait, what’s your phone number?” she asked, grabbing a sharpie from the counter. Steve gave her his number, which she wrote on her hand, then left. She returned the sharpie before going to the kitchen. Tony was as the table on a tablet. “Hello, Mr. Stark,” she said quietly. He looked up and smiled.

“Hello blondie! How about we go get some breakfast. Pepper’s agreed to go out for breakfast, then taking you shopping,” he said. Mel blushed.

“Y-you don’t have to do that,” she whispered.

“What? Speak up blondie,” Tony said, turning his ear to her.

“You don’t need to do that. You don’t need to spend money on me,” she said, a bit louder.

“Nonsense!” Tony exclaimed. “A friend of Rogers is a friend of mine! Now, let’s go!” Mel followed him outside and into a car. Pepper was waiting for them.

“Hello, Mel. How are you?” she asked as she placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m ok, thank you,” she said with a slight smile. Pepper smiled, then got into the car. Tony was driving, Pepper was in the passenger seat, and Mel was in the back. She stared out of the window the whole way there.

When they pulled up to the restaurant, Mel was amazed at how fancy the place was.

“Wow,” she said in awe. She followed the other two in and to a back corner.

“Are you sure I should be here?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Pepper.

“I mean... “ she motioned to her outfit.

“Oh, honey,” laughed Pepper,” you’re just fine.” Mel sat down across from Tony and Pepper. The waiter walked over.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked.

“Black Coffee,” said Tony.

“A water will be fine, thank you,” said Pepper.

“I’ll just take a water,” said Mel. The waiter smiled, then walked off. Later, when the waiter returned, they ordered their food. As they waited, Pepper started a conversation.

“So, Mel, what do you like to do?” she asked sweetly.

“Well, I like to practice guard stuff in my free time,” she said.

“Oh, and what’s that?” Pepper asked, interested in what Mel had to say.

“Oh, um, well, there are two types of guard-”

“-Color guard and winter guard,” Tony cut in. “Did you know that there is a difference between the two, the biggest one being that color guard is outside and winter guard is inside?”

“How did you know?” asked Mel, looking at him, surprised by the fact that he even knew that guard was a thing.

“Well, Peter came over once and talked about it for about an hour,” Tony shrugged.

“Oh, well, maybe you can show us sometime?” asked Pepper. Mel nodded. “What else do you like to do? What do you do at school?”

“Well, um, I’m in choir, and I skipped Pre-Algebra, my math teacher said that it would be too easy for me. I also did Lego Robotics. That was pretty fun, but my friend had to teach me how to code the robot because I had never coded one before,” she explained.

“You work with robots?” asked Tony, intrigued.

“A bit. Most of my time with the robot was building it, making parts for missions, and coding the actual mission,” she said. Tony nodded. Their food came. They ate quietly with a conversation every now and then. Tony paid and they left.

“Alright. I’m going to drop you two off at the mall. Happy will be there to pick you up,” Tony said as he started the car. He drove them to the mall, let them out, and drove off.

“Alright Mel,” said Pepper. “Where do you want to start?”

“Um, can we start with jeans?” she asked.

“Of course.” Pepper lead them over to a store for jeans. After 45 minutes, they had seven pairs of jeans and a few pairs of leggings. Happy met them outside of the store. “Hello, Happy. Can you take these to the car for us?” asked Pepper, holding out the bags and Happy took them.

“Of course, Miss Potts. When he returned, he followed them into other stores where they had bought two pairs of converse, black military boots, tennis shoes, and several shirts, tops, and hoodies. It was past lunchtime when they were done, so they stopped by Starbucks and grabbed some coffee and donuts. They arrived back at Avengers tower, where Happy helped Pepper and Mel take all of Mel’s new clothes up to her new room.

“Thanks for taking me shopping, Miss Potts,” said Mel.

“No problem honey. Please, call me Pepper.” Mel smiled. Pepper left and Mel looked around her new room. It was painted red with a white desk in the corner of the room. There was a giant window Seat behind her bed, a beautiful place to watch the sunset. She had a fairly sized closet and a computer sitting on her desk. She smiled and started putting all of her new items away. She sighed as she lay back against the comfortable bed, not hearing the door open.

“Do you like it?” she jolted up, looking over to see Steve at the door.

“Yeah, this bed’s comfortable,” she said.

“Really? Well, how was shopping?” he asked as he came over and sat down by her on the bed.

“It was fun, I got loads of new clothes,” she said. Steve smiled. “Steve?” she asked.

“Yeah?” he replied.

“Where’s Bucky?” she asked worriedly. Steve’s smile faded a bit.

“He’s somewhere around here. He’s been meaning to talk to you,” said Steve quietly.

“Oh, well, if you see him, tell him that I want to talk to him, too,” she said.

“Ok, I will. How’s your fever?” he asked as he placed his hand on her forehead.

“It’s gone. When can I go back to school?” she asked. Steve was taken aback by the question.

“Well, we can’t really risk you going to school right now. But, we can have you take a few online classes, or we could teach you,” Steve said.

“Alright, but when you’re free, can we go into town so I could at least grab all of my guard stuff?”

“Well, I’m free right now, if that’s ok,” Steve said.

“Ok,” Mel said as she stood up. Steve lead her over to another car, taking the wheel and driving her into town.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Right here,” she said, pointing to an old, rundown building. She hopped out of the car and started climbing a rope tied to the side of the building.

“Whoah, careful!” called Steve, following her up in case she fell.

“It’s fine, I do this all the time!” She climbed through the window, disappearing into the darkness. When Steve had managed to get inside, he recognized the place. It was where he found Bucky before the Civil War between the Avengers happened. Mel had walked over to a corner, grabbing a small black travel backpack, throwing it over her right shoulder. Next was a six-foot black pole with red wrapped around it. Then she picked up a white gun-type thing, throwing it over her other shoulder. “This should be all,” she said, turning to Steve. She followed his eyes over to a few pictures of her and someone else.

“Who’s this?” asked Steve as he walked over to the pictures, pointing to the strange man.

“No one!” she exclaimed, running over and tearing the pictures from the wall. She carefully stuck them into her bag. “Anyway, let’s go.” She pulled out a pair of gloves, putting them on as she walked over to the window. She tied her flag to the rope, dropping it down before she grabbed hold of slid rope and slid down the side of the building. Steve followed. When he got to the bottom, Mel was already putting her things in the car. She got into the passenger seat and leaned against the window. Steve made his way to the car, staying silent all the way back to the tower.

When they arrived, Mel quickly grabbed her things and took them to her room. Steve sighed, deciding to go look for Bucky. He found him in the kitchen, sitting at the table looking at a Starkpad.

“It amazes me how people use these things,” Bucky said, looking up and over at Steve. “They are too complicated.”

“Well, they are from after our time. You know, Mel’s up. She wants to talk to you,” Steve said as he sat down across from Bucky.

“Steve, I can’t. I can’t trust myself around her,” Bucky said sadly.

“She doesn’t care, Bucky. She wants to see you. Come on,” he said, dragging Bucky up by his arm.

“Steve, I can’t!” he exclaimed. “I can’t hurt her again.”

“The only way that you will hurt her is if you just ignore her like she doesn’t even exist,” Steve said as he dragged her to her door. “Now go in there and talk to her. Here, I’ll help.” He knocked on the door. “Hello?”

“Who is it?” came a soft voice from inside.

“It’s me, Steve. Bucky’s here too. He wants to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk right now.” There was a movement coming from the other side of the room.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked worriedly.

“Nothing.” Mel’s voice was wavering.

“Let me try,” said Bucky as he pushed Steve out of the way. “Mel, it’s me Bucky. Can we talk?” He leaned against the door.

“Are you alone?” Bucky looked over at Steve. He took the hint and walked away.

“I am now. Can I come in?” there was a soft click. He opened the door and slowly made his way in. What he saw broke him in two. Mel was sitting in the window seat, back to him, staring out of the window. He could faintly see tear tracks running down her face. He quickly made his way over there. “Mel? Mel, what’s wrong?” He jumped up and sat next to her, wrapping his arm across her shoulders, pulling her against him. 

“I-I remember,” she whispered. Bucky looked down to see the picture that she was holding. He suddenly recognized the photo. It was in his old apartment building right before the Civil War. It was of him when he was the Winter Soldier. But there was someone else with him. It was a girl. She was dressed almost exactly like him.

“What do you remember?” She shook her head, looking down and trembling in his grasp.

“I remember bad things,” she whispered. Mel placed the picture on her side where Bucky wasn’t.

“What were they?” he asked quietly. She shook her head again.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Bucky could barely hear her. He sighed.

“Alright, but when you do, always remember that I’m here. Steve, too.” He went to pull her closer, but she refused.

“I think you should go,” she said as she stood up. He followed her with his eyes, watching the way she walked. She shook slightly with each step. She placed the picture on her dresser.

“Why? Are you ok?” he asked, turning around and standing up.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” her voice trembled. He stepped towards her.

“You’re trembling.” He reached a hand out towards her. 

“Please, just leave…” she held onto the dresser, keeping herself upright.

“Alright, but get me if you need anything. And remember, I’m always here.” He walked out the door, closing it softly behind him.

Those pictures… they were of her… and she suddenly remembered them. They were of her and the Winter Soldier when they worked together. All of the pain that she had caused others and that HYDRA had caused her came flowing back, haunting her like a ghost. When Bucky came in, she felt worse.  _ What if I hurt him?  _ She asked him to leave. And he did. The memories were becoming too much for her.  _ Me being alive just puts everyone else in danger. _ Her breath quickened as she let out a small cry. She ran to her guard bag where she always kept her hunting knife. Her partner had given it to her so she could fulfill her missions. She ripped it out of the bag and rushed over to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her, locking it.  _ This is for the best… _ she walked over to the sink, taking off the hoodie that she had been wearing. She threw it to the ground. Mel was bawling at this point. She put the tip of the knife against her arm, dragging it across.  _ You’ll only cause more harm if you live…  _ she cut again, deeper this time.

_ It’ll go faster if you go for the wrist…  _ she listened to the small voice in her head, cutting across her wrists deeply. She switched hands, cutting her other arm. There was blood all over the sink. She continued to cut herself, hoping that it would end slowly and painfully, unlike everyone she had killed.

It was working. She could feel her life draining away further from her. She gripped the rim of the porcelain sink and tried to steady her shaking hands. All of the blood loss was making her shake. She looked up and into the mirror. She saw that her face was pale, tear tracks running down her face.  _ It was working… _

“Mel?” she heard from the other side of the door. “Are you in there?” Then there was a knock. She realized that it was Bucky and that only made her cry harder. “Mel?!” Bucky said, trying to open the door. She screamed.

“One more time,” she cried to herself, picking her knife back up. “One last time,” she whispered as she cut as far as she could. Her vision was fading, but she could still hear Bucky calling out to her and trying to break down the door. She sunk to her knees.  _ This is it…  _ The last thing that she saw was Bucky break down the door and drop to his knees, pulling her to his chest and letting out a sob.

“Why?” he sobbed. “WHY?” he screamed. Bucky realized that he needed help if he wanted to save Mel. “STEVE! BRUCE! HELP!” he screamed. “Someone, help!” he sobbed. Someone ran into the room.

“Bucky, what’s wrong?” Peter asked running over to him. “Oh, my, gosh.”

“Peter, go get help,” Bucky gasped. Peter took off running. He looked around, spotting her hunting knife on the counter. He grabbed it and her hoodie, cutting it into strips to tie around her arms.

“Bucky, what’s…” Steve started, bolting into the room with Peter, Tony, and Bruce. He spotted Mel, then stopped. Bucky looked up to Bruce.

“Please, help her,” he cried. They all worked together to get her to the medbay before she lost too much blood.

“Bucky, buddy, I think you need to go clean yourself up,” Steve said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

“N-no, I can’t leave her. I need to know if she’ll be ok,” he cried softly.

“We’ll let you know if anything happens,” Steve said sadly.

“No, I’m staying.” Bucky walked over near Mel’s bed. Bruce and Tony were rushing to stop the blood flow. Nurses ran around, grabbing materials to help. But the blood flow wouldn’t stop. Mel’s clothes were soaked in blood, and the bed around her was as well. Finally, the scent of all of the blood got to Bucky, and he rushed over to the nearest trash bin, vomiting up all of what he had eaten within the past 24 hours. Steve rushed over to him, dropping to his knees and rubbing his back.

“It’s ok Bucky,” he whispered, helping him up and to Bucky’s room. He sat him down on the bed, grabbing him a glass of water a pair of fresh clothes. “Can you change?” he asked, handing Bucky everything. He nodded. Steve watched as Bucky took small sips of the water and then changed his clothes. When he was done he started walking towards the door. “Where are you going?” asked Steve, following him.

“Back to Mel,” he said quietly, opening the door.

“Buck, you need to rest,” Steve said, pulling him back.

“I will once I know that she’s ok,” he said as he turned back around. Steve sighed, following Bucky back down to the medbay. When they walked in, Steve and Tony were cleaning things up. “How is she?” Bucky asked hoarsely.

“We’ve done all we can,” said Bruce, walking over to him and Steve. “It all depends on her, now.” Bucky turned to look at Mel. They had moved her to a cleaner bed and had changed her clothes. He walked over to her, pulling a chair next to her bed.

“Mel, please be ok,” he said, grabbing her ice-cold hand, careful not to disturb the bandaging.

Bucky sat there for several hours, not moving. Steve had brought him down some toast, hoping that Bucky could keep it down. But that was an hour ago, so Bucky sat alone, thinking about the day’s events.  _ I shouldn’t have left her alone, There was clearly something wrong.  _ A slight movement caught his attention. Her hand had moved. At first, he thought it was just a twitch, but then there came a heavy sigh. His eyes shot up to her face to see her eyes flutter open slightly. Then he watched as her eyes trailed over to him. She started to cry. He stroked her tear-stained cheek. Her eyes met his, and he tried his hardest to remember them because he knew that after that moment, that could very well be the last time that he would see them again.

“JARVIS, get Banner, Steve, and Stark,” Bucky said quietly.

“Yes, Mr. Barnes.”

“Hey,” Bucky said sadly. He left his hand on her cheek. Her face was still deathly pale. “How are you?”

“Bucky…” she started coughing.

“Hey, hey, now. It’s ok,” he said, running his hand down the side of Mel’s face.

“I’m sorry…” her eyes drooped, and her body relaxed. The heart monitor flat-lined.

“Mel?!” Bucky asked panicked. He shot up.

“She’s flatlining!” called someone from behind Bucky. He watched as Bruce and Tony ran to try to keep her from dying. Steve started to pull Bucky away.

“No!” Bucky yelled, trying to get out of Steve’s grip. “No! Don’t let her die!” He then started to sob. “Please Mel, don’t die…” he turned to run but ran into Steve’s chest. Steve wrapped Bucky in his arms, holding tight. Bucky returned the hug, death-gripping Steve, sobbing.

“I know, buddy. I know,” Steve said quietly, tears of his own starting to fall. They slowly made their way out of the room as nurses and doctors tried to save Mel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I was transferring this over to this book because I wrote it on a google doc, I realized that this chapter is 14 pages long. Wow. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

“I’m sorry,” Bruce said sadly to Steve and Bucky. “She just lost too much blood. She couldn’t take it.” Bucky’s face was pale, flushed, and his eyes were red and puffy.

“No, no,” Bucky muttered, falling into the chair behind him. Steve dropped down by him. “It’s not true. Tell me it’s not true.”

“I’m sorry, buddy,” said Steve, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“No!” Bucky shouted, shooting up from his seat, swaying a bit.

“Whoah, take it easy, Bucky,” Bruce said as he tried to steady Bucky. He avoided Doctor Banner’s touch, running out of the room. As he ran, his vision started filling with small black dots. He fell to his knees, breath quickening.

“Bucky.” An arm wrapped around him. “Breathe, buddy.” Bruce and Tony ran in.

“Steve, I’m gonna be sick,” Bucky said before he started heaving. Tony slid a bin over to Steve, to which he placed in front of Bucky. He was sick, then passed out soon after.

“Steve, I’m gonna be sick,” Bucky said before he threw up in a bin that Tony had slid over. When he was done, he fell against Steve, passed out cold.

“What happened?” asked Steve worriedly.

“I think he had a minor panic attack,” said Banner, grabbing the bin. “Can you take him to his room?” Steve and Tony nodded. They got him into bed, where Steve sat in a chair, worried for his friend.

_ Where am I? Why is everything black? What happened? Where’s Bucky and Steve? I remember now! The memories. The pictures. My past. Am I finally dead? But if I’m dead, then why can I hear myself? What’s that high pitched noise? Then I lost my mind to the darkness. _

_ What time is it? And why is it so hot? I tried moving. Well, am I dead or not. I tried opening my eyes, to which I found something covering my face. I tried lifting my arms, which pulled the thing off of my face. I looked around. Am I in the medbay? I sat up, looking at myself. I looked as white as the bedsheets surrounding me, and my arms were heavily wrapped. Then I remembered. I had tried to kill myself. I thought it would help save the others. But then I remembered Bucky’s face. He looked so upset with me. I need to go see him. _

_ I stood up, surprised that I wasn’t dizzy or lightheaded. I quickly but quietly made my way up to Bucky’s room. The door was cracked, so I poked my head in. Bucky was the only one in the room. I walked further down the hall, seeing that Steve was asleep in his own bed. I walked back down to Bucky’s room, slipping through the crack in the door. I walked over, looking at his face. It was a bit pale. I frowned. What happened? I felt his forehead, and he stirred but didn’t wake up. I sighed, deciding that I would wait until he gets up, then see if he’s ok. I climbed up into his window seat and laid back. It sure is a pretty night… _

Bucky woke up slowly, not feeling too well. What happened? Then he remembered. He shot up and bolted over to Mel’s room, seeing it empty. He looked to her bathroom, seeing that someone had cleaned up all of the blood. He then ran to Steve’s room, it also is empty. His breath quickened. There are only two other places she would be. He ran down to the medbay and over to where Mel was supposed to be. But he was shocked. Her bed was empty. He checked the last place he thought that she would be, the kitchen. He ran in to see all of the Avengers at the table, looking upset and distraught.

“Bucky?” asked Steve, standing up and walking over to his friend. “What’s wrong?” He placed his hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

“Where’s Mel?” he asked quietly. Steve looked at him sadly.

“Buddy, don’t you remember?” he said softly.

“B-but she isn’t there,” Bucky stuttered.

“Maybe one of the nurses removed her, bud. We asked them to,” Steve looked Bucky in the eyes. “Why don’t you go get dressed, then we all can have breakfast?” Bucky nodded slowly, turning to go to his room. He walked slowly so he could have time to think.  _ I’m going to help plan a funeral. It’ll be great, and it’ll be in memory of her. Wanda, Pepper, and Natasha can pick out an outfit for her, and then… _ He opened his door, walking over to his dresser, pulling out a white tank top, red flannel, and jeans. He changed before he stopped and decided that he would go to Mel’s room. He walked in, taking a look around her room. He spotted the pictures on her dresser, walking over and picking them up. He went and sat down on the end on Mel’s bed, looking at the pictures in his hands. There was one that was labeled ‘Winter Guard 2017-18’. It showed several girls in converse, red and black jackets, and their hair was up in a high ponytail. Another one was labeled ‘Color Guard 2018-19’. There were new people in this photo. Everyone was wearing blue bodysuits, red skirts, heavy makeup, hair in buns, and tan gloves and shoes.

The third photo of Mel standing in the light of a beautiful sunrise, standing so that the light hit her directly. ‘August 7th, 2018’. The fourth picture was of her and some friends in Washington D.C. The fifth Picture was the one that he had seen her have in her hand the day before. It was of him and a female when he was still the winter soldier. The more he looked at the mysterious figure, the more he realized that the form of the figure looked like Mel’s. He moved on to the final picture. It was black and white, and it looked like it was taken back before he fell off the train. It was of a young girl, maybe 4 or five, and two men. He recognized the men to be the younger versions of himself and Steve. He was shocked.

_ How did she get this? _ He wondered as he took the pictures back to his room. He was going to tape them to the window next to his window seat. He walked into his room and over to the window before realizing that someone was there. He dropped the pictures. It was a very incredibly pale Mel, her breathing short and light.  _ B-but, she died. _ He slowly made his way up to the form. Taking a closer look, he could see that she was asleep.

“Mel?” he whispered, sure that he was seeing things. He went to lay his hand on her arm, seeing if she was really real. He could feel her and see her.  _ But this wasn’t possible. _ He smiled, then ran to the kitchen. “Steve! I found her!” he exclaimed, smiling like a Cheshire cat. “She’s alive!” Steve looked at him sadly, walking over to him.

“Bucky, are you ok?” he asked as he felt his friend’s forehead. “You don’t feel too warm.”

“I’m fine! I found Mel! Come, look!” he exclaimed, trying to pull Steve along with him like an excited child. 

“Bucky,” Steve started.

“No, come look!” Steve sighed and let Bucky pull him along. They walked into Bucky’s room. “See?”

“What, Buck?” What am I supposed to see?” Steve asked quietly.

“Mel! Look!” Bucky pointed over to his window seat, running over and sitting in it.

“Buddy, I think you…” Steve stopped. He finally saw what his friend had meant. Laying next to Bucky was an incredibly pale Mel. Steve hopped up next to them, running his hand down Mel’s arm. He could see that she was breathing slightly. “Mel?” he whispered. Her face was turned towards the window, her hair covering almost all of her face. Steve gently moved her head to that she was facing him. Blood slowly fell from a corner from her mouth. “JARVIS, get Tony and Bruce,” Steve said as he gently wiped the blood from her face.

“Steve, what’s going on?” asked Bruce as he ran over to them.

“It’s Mel, she’s alive,” he said in awe, trying to wipe away the blood that was still flowing from her mouth.

“That’s impossible,” said Tony, jumping up with them. “Get her to the medbay.” Bucky moved so he could pick her up, moving her to the medbay.

“How can she be alive? She was dead for over an hour,” Bruce said, moving to hook her up to multiple machines. “She had lost so much blood, there’s no way her body could create as much as she lost in this short amount of time.”

“I don’t care, as long as she’s alive,” said Bucky, smiling.

“Why don’t we let them work and we can go eat?” Steve offered. Bucky nodded, going to the kitchen with Steve.

“Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes, Doctor Banner requests that you come downstairs,” JARVIS called.

“All right,” Steve said, getting up and walking away with Bucky.

“What’s wrong?” Bucky asked as he walked in, worried that something bad had happened. Bruce turned to them.

“Nothing is wrong, I just wanted to let you know that she is still somehow alive and doing well. Although, I don’t know how,” he said while smiling. “Just make sure she stays in bed and you can stay down here with her. She seems to be resting,” he said as he walked out of the room. Bucky went and sat next to her, taking her hand in his.

“Well, Bucky, I’m glad she’s alive, but I have work to do. Do you mind if I leave?” Steve asked.

“You can go. I’ll stay here,” he said, not taking his eyes off of Mel. He smiled, glad that she was alive.

3 hours later and Bucky was still by her side. He was trapped in his own thoughts when he felt movement in front of him. He looked down to see Mel staring at him, her eyes blank. “Bucky?” she asked quietly. He smiled, tears of joy running down his face.

“Mel? Are you ok?” He asked, giving her hand a small squeeze. She started to smile before it changed to a look of pain. She groaned, sitting up and starting to curl up. “Mel?! What’s wrong?” Bucky asked panicked.

“Hurts…” She said, moving to sit on her knees. She started coughing, blood running from her mouth again. Her breath came out short and quick as she coughed, choking on her own blood. “Help… can’t breathe,” she choked out. Bucky panicked.

“A-alright, um, JARVIS, get Bruce. Just, take a deep breath or something!” He said to Mel.

“TAKE A DEEP BREATH!? It feels like my insides are being RIPPED OUT!” she yelled at him. Bruce came bolting in, seeing Mel’s blood covering the bed and her mouth.

“Mel, what’s going on? What do you need? How can I help?” Bruce asked as he ran to her. Mel realized what was happening.

“Serum,” she gasped out, turning to Bucky. “My bag... Orange stuff, bring it to me,” she said as Bucky nodded and ran to her room. Bruce wet a rag and started to wipe the blood from her face. She started coughing more blood into her hands when Bucky ran in with her bag, pulling out a container of orange liquid. He opened the container.

“What do you need me to do with it?” She coughed more blood into her hands.

“I need to drink it,” she said turning to him. He lifted the cup to her mouth as she gulped it down. She pulled her head away, gasping for a minute. “Ok, ok. I’m good,” she gasped out.

“Can you stand?” asked Bruce as he stood beside her. She nodded, moving to stand but fell off of the bed. Bucky rushed over and helped her up. He walked her over to the sink so that she could clean her hands off. After about five minutes of scrubbing, her hands were clear of all blood.

“Let’s get you changed,” Bucky said as he helped her to her room. They found Peter on their way.

“Where’ve you been Mel? I couldn’t find you last night and you wouldn’t answer your phone,” Peter asked.

“Well, she died last night,” said Bucky. “I’m not joking, she was dead for over an hour.”

“Hold on, you  _ died?!” _ Peter asked panicked.

“Yeah, well it didn’t stick,” said Mel, turning to Bucky. “Can we go now?” she asked. He nodded. They made their way to her room. Bucky sat her down on her bed and walked over to her closet.

“What do you want to wear?” he asked, turning to her. She thought for a moment.

“Um, a sweatshirt will do. And some sweatpants,” she said, looking away from his gaze. He nodded, making a quick trip over to his room where he grabbed a black hoodie and a pair of sweatpants.

“Here,” he said, handing her clothes. “Will you need any help?” he asked shyly, silently hoping that she said no.

“I don’t think so,” she said as she laid the clothes beside her. Bucky nodded, stepping out and into the hall, closing the door behind him. He stood patiently, waiting for Mel to tell him that he could come in. He knocked on the door five minutes later.

“Mel? Can I come in?” he asked, slowly turning the doorknob. He poked his head in to see that she was staring into the mirror. “Is everything ok?”

“What’s happening?” she whispered, touching her hair.

“What do you mean?” Bucky asked as he walked over next to her.

“It’s getting darker,” she said to herself, ignoring the fact that Bucky was there. He placed his hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention to him.

“I’m sure it’s fine. Come on, you must be getting hungry,” He pulled her towards the kitchen, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “What do you want to eat?” he asked. He spotted an assortment of fruits. “How about a bowl of fruit?”

“Sure,” Mel said quietly. A loud commotion came from the doorway before it became silent. Mel and Bucky turned to see the Avengers in the doorway.

“Mel?” asked Wanda, walking over to her.

“Yeah?” She asked softly. Everyone smiled, running over to her.

“How are you alive?” asked Pepper, wrapping her in a giant hug. Mel returned the gesture.

“I don’t know, to be honest,” she admitted. She pulled away, looking at everyone else. “Oh, Mel, this is Clint, Rhodey, and Sam,” Pepper introduced.

“Hello,” Mel greeted quietly.

“Hello,” the three greeted. Bucky finished cutting up the fruit, placed it in a bowl and handed it to her. She took it and ate it slowly.

“At least she’s eating,” whispered Steve to Pepper. “For a while, she refused to eat anything.” Everyone except Steve left to either rest or get work done. He walked over and sat next to Mel, Bucky sitting on her other side. “How are you?” he asked her. She shrugged.

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. She got up and placed her empty bowl in the sink. She leaned on the counter across from them. “I think I’m going to go lay down,” she said as she headed towards the door. Bucky and Steve followed her.

“Why? Do you feel sick?” Steve asked.

“No, I’m just tired,” she said, aggravated slightly that they were following her around. She walked into her room and tried to close the door behind her, but Bucky stopped her.

“Hold on, kiddo,” he said, opening the door and walking in. “Don’t think that we can leave you alone after what you did yesterday.” She stopped, turning her head so that she could see him out of the corner of her eye.

“If you’ve seen what I’ve done, you wouldn’t have tried to stop me,” she said before she laid on her bed, pulling the sheets up and over her head. Bucky looked back at Steve before he went and sat on the bed next to her. Steve sat on her other side. Steve pulled the blanket off of her head so she could breathe.

“What did you do?” he asked softly.

“Nothing!” she exclaimed, jumping off of the bed and across the room. “If I told you, you would kill me.” She ran out of the door. Steve and Bucky ran after her, but when they got to the hall, she was gone.

Mel ran down the hallway, quick enough that she could escape Bucky and Steve. She ran until she thought that they wouldn’t find her. She stopped and took a look around. There was a balcony right in front of her.  _ Fresh air _ , she thought, opening the doors and walking out onto the balcony. She took a breath, enjoying the fresh air in her lungs. Mel walked over and sat on the railing, dangling her legs off of the side. She was pretty far up, high enough that if she fell, it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. She sensed someone behind her.

“Afraid that I’ll jump?” she asked, turning around to see Bucky and Steve. They looked scared out of their minds.

“Mel, please come off of there,” Steve pleaded, not wanting her to fall. She smiled a sad smile, turning around so that she was touching the balcony, but still sitting on the railing. “Just hear us out.” She stayed where she was. “Please, come here.” She hesitantly slid off the railing, taking small steps over to the two. “Let’s go inside.” She nodded, walking with them into a lounging area. She sat in a chair across from the couch where Bucky and Steve were sitting.

“What do you want to talk about?” she asked quietly, even though she knew exactly what they wanted.

“Why?” asked Bucky, upset. “Why did you do it?” He motioned to her arms. She hid them behind her back. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said quietly. Mel looked at the floor.

“But you need to, Mel. We need to know what’s going on,” urged Steve.

“No!” She shot up out of her seat. “You don’t need to know! You’re not my parents. What goes on in my life isn’t important to you!” She started to storm out of the room before Bucky grabbed her, pulling her to him. He turned her around and looked into her eyes.

“You’re right, we aren’t your parents, but we care Mel. We care about you. We want to know what’s going on.” He could see the tears start to form in her eyes.

“Nothing good ever happens when you care for someone,” she whispered. She turned back around and went to her room, closing and locking the door behind her. Steve and Bucky looked at each other, frowning. They decided to let her be and they both went to bed.

Mel went to her room, closing and locking the door behind her. She couldn’t take it anymore. She knew that something was going on inside of her, and she couldn’t trust her own mind. She grabbed her backpack, stuffing all of the clothes she could into it. She grabbed her phone, debating whether or not if she should bring it. She decided against it, knowing that they could track her down. Mel decided that she had everything she needed, then opened her window. She pulled a rope from her bag, tying it to the bedposts and throwing it out of the window before she used it to descend down the side of the building. When she landed on the ground, she took off running into the city, nobody seeing her leave.

She ran until she felt like she would collapse. She found herself at her old apartment building where her guard things were. She built up the strength to climb up the rope and into the building. She felt safe in the area of her second home, which she stayed in almost every night. She threw her bag down by the old and beaten mattress, flopping down onto it and falling asleep.

She slept until 10. When she woke up, she was starving. She pulled her money out of her bag, going to the small market. She bought some fruit and a few bottles of water. Mel made her way back to her hidden room, eating along the way. When Mel got back, it was around 11, so she just hung out in the room. Suddenly, there was a sound coming from above her. She rushed over to the cabinet, hiding in the tiny space.

Bucky woke up feeling wrong. He felt like there was something wrong around him. He looked around his room. It looked just the way he had left it the night before. Bucky walked over and poked his head into Steve’s room. It looked just fine. He then walked over to Mel’s room, his feeling getting worse. He tried to open the door, but it was locked.

“Mel?” he asked quietly. There was nothing. He knocked loudly. It was still silent. The feeling deepened inside of him. He busted the door down, afraid of what he might see. He looked around. Her bed was empty, along with most of the closet. He saw that the window was opened and a rope hung from it.  _ Oh, God, _ he thought.  _ She hung herself. _ He ran over but didn’t see her anywhere. “Steve!” He yelled. Steve came bustling in. 

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked. Bucky held up the rope. Steve thought the same as Bucky, running over but not seeing anything. “Where is she?” Bucky watched as Steve ran and grabbed his shield. They slid down the rope, taking a look around the place. When they couldn’t see anything, they ran back inside of the tower, looking for Tony. “Tony, we need your help,” Steve said, running into the lab. Tony looked up from where he was working.

“What’s up, capsicle?” he said as he looked up from his Starkpad. 

“Mel’s gone again. Could you try to find her footprints with your suit?” asked Steve. Tony nodded, putting on his suit and running after them. They lead him to where the rope had touched the ground.

“JARVIS, look for Blondie’s footprints,” Tony said, looking around.

“Footprints found, sir,” JARVIS said. The three of them followed Mel’s footprints that had led them to the city.

The footprints ended right in front of the building where Steve had taken Mel to get her things. Bucky had recognized it as the place where Steve had found him before the Civil War. “What is this place?” Tony asked, looking up the rope.

“This is where I brought her a few days ago to get some of her stuff,” Steve said. “I’m going to go through the window. Tony, you come from above her. Bucky, go through the door.” They nodded, going their separate ways. Steve carefully opened the window, stepping inside. Bucky came through the door softly, looking around. Tony stayed above the room, keeping an eye out in case he saw her anywhere.

“Where is she?” asked Bucky.

“I don’t know,” Steve replied, walking around the small living space. Her bag was thrown onto the bed and water bottles were sitting on the counter. “Maybe she-” a loud noise came from the cabinet under the sink.

“Ow!” someone groaned. Bucky rushed over and threw the cabinet open. Mel was rubbing the top of her head. Bucky carefully pulled her out.

“What in the world are you doing out here?!” he yelled at her. She winced. “Do you know what could have happened to you?”

“Bucky,” Steve said, walking over to the two. “Don’t be so hard on her.”

“Shut up Steve!” Bucky snapped. He turned back to Mel. “Do you know what you put us through? We thought that you tried to hang yourself!” Mel looked over and spotted something behind the fridge. “And you even tried dying your hair so that we wouldn’t notice you!”

“What?” she asked quietly, looking at her hair. It had turned a deep shade of brown. “I-I didn’t do this, I swear!”

“Hair just doesn’t change color, Mel!” Bucky yelled.

“Actually, hers does,” said a voice from behind them. Mel whipped her head around to see a strange man. It was the same man from before.

“Who are you?” Bucky growled.

“I’m an agent sent from HYDRA to equip the Winter Soldier and the Fallen Guard,” the man said. Bucky’s eyes went wide.

“N-No,” he whispered as he backed up.

“Don’t bother calling for help, I already took down the man from upstairs,” the man said. He lunged for Mel, but she shot out of her spot and over to the fridge, pulling out her old shield that she used when working for HYDRA. The man recomposed himself. “Perhaps this would help.” He pulled out a black book with a red star on it. He opened the book, flipping through the pages. Mel looked over to Bucky and Steve with wide eyes. _ “ _ ** _Солдат._ ** _ ” _

“No!” Mel yelled, throwing the shield at the man. He ducked and it bounced back to her.

_ “ _ ** _Убийство_ ** _ .” _

“Stop! Make it stop!” she yelled as she clutched her head, dropping her shield. Bucky and Steve went to attack the man, but he somehow managed to trap them in magical bindings.

_ “ _ ** _Уничтожить_ ** _ .” _ Mel dropped to her knees.

_ “ _ ** _Пожар_ ** _ .”  _ She screamed.

“Mel!” yelled Bucky as he tried to escape the binding that was holding him back.

_“_**_Строительство_**_.”_ Mel was shaking terribly._  
_ _“_**_Словакия_**_.” _She closed her eyes._  
_ _“_**_Гроза_**__,” her head shot up.

_ “ _ ** _Готовы соблюдать_ ** _ ,”  _ she said as she stood up, bringing her shield with her. The man smiled.

“Come with me,” he smirked. She walked over to him.

“Mel, don’t!” Bucky yelled as he broke away the binds. He stormed over to the man and started to attack him. Mel ran over and started to fight Bucky. “Don’t you realize who I am?” Bucky asked. She continued to attack Bucky. Steve broke the bindings and snuck up behind her, grabbing her around her arms. She bent down and flipped him over her back. Suddenly, Bucky remembered something.

_ May 26th, 1941 _

_ Ky was under the control of HYDRA, waiting to be cryo frozen so she could be used in the future. “For this to work, we will need to deactivate you,” the HYDRA agent said as he walked over and hit a spot on the small of her neck, deactivating her. _

Bucky jumped up and ran behind Mel, hitting the small of her neck. She froze, then dropped to the ground. “No!” yelled the strange man in a rage. “Nevermind her, all I need is the Winter Soldier.” He started to pull out a red book with a black star before he was slammed into the wall. Bucky and Steve looked over to see Tony with his arm out. He was breathing heavily.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said as he grabbed the man that attacked them. Bucky carefully picked Mel up and Steve stood. They all walked out front where Pepper stood in a car. When she saw them walk out of the building, she ran over to them.

“What in the world happened?” she asked, taking everything in. Tony had a gash on his forehead, Mel was unconscious, and Bucky and Steve looked exhausted with cuts and bruises all over them. Pepper realized that Mel’s hair was a dark brown.

“We’ll explain in the car,” Tony said, walking over and getting in the driver’s seat. He pulled out his phone and called for a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to come to get the man and confine him. Pepper watched as Steve sat behind the passenger’s seat and Bucky sat behind Tony, laying Mel down across his and Steve’s laps. Pepper got in the car and listened to Steve and Tony as they told her about what happened. She also noticed that Bucky hadn’t said a word since she saw him and that he only looked down at Mel, making sure that she was ok.

They pulled into the carport. Bucky got out and carefully pulled Mel out of the backseat, carrying her to his room. He laid her on the bed, standing for a moment.

“JARVIS, lock all possible exits of this room,” he said.

“Yes, Mr. Barnes.” Bucky took one last look at Mel before he grabbed a change of clothes and took a quick shower. “Mr. Barnes, Mr. Rogers has left something by your door,” JARVIS said. Bucky walked over to the door.

“Unlock the door, JARVIS.” He heard it click before he opened the door. He looked down to see Mel’s bag. He picked it up and carried it to her room. “Make sure Mel doesn’t leave JARVIS,” he commanded.

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS replied. Bucky put away all of Mel’s things and walked back to his room, sitting on his bed next to Mel. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep leaning against the wall.

Bucky woke up two hours later. He opened his eyes to see that Mel was curled up against his side with his right arm wrapped around her. She was awake, looking down at the bed, lost in her thoughts. Her breathing was ragged and she was gripping his arm.

“Mel? What’s wrong?” Bucky asked, becoming alert. There was no response. “Mel?” He shook her gently. She carefully turned her head to look up at him, staying silent. “What’s wrong?” She looked back down at the bed, laying her head on the side of his chest. He wrapped both arms around her, pulling her close. She sighed, relaxing against Bucky. Steve walked in.

“Hey,” he said quietly, smiling when he saw that Mel was awake. “Lunch is ready if either of you are hungry.” Bucky nodded. He slowly sat up, moving his arms behind Mel’s back. He slid off the bed and stood up.

“Are you hungry?” Bucky asked her. She didn’t respond. Steve walked over, looking concerned. Bucky turned to him. “She hasn’t said a word,” he whispered to Steve. Steve frowned.

“Hey Mel, are you hungry?” Steve asked, crouching down next to her. She turned to him, staring at him blankly. She gave a slight shake of the head. “You need to eat, honey,” he said as he gently laid his hand on her arm. He turned back to Bucky. “Mel, why aren’t you talking?” She stayed silent.

“Come on, Mel. What’s bothering you?” Bucky asked as he walked over to Steve. After a moment of silence, Bucky decided that he would just pick her up and carry her. He slowly came to her, picking her up. She didn’t say or do anything, just let Bucky pick her up. The three of them made their way to the kitchen. Bucky sat Mel down at the island, turning to grab her a drink. Steve moved to make her something to eat. Bucky gave Mel a glass of water and turned to help Steve. They ended up making her another bowl of fruit.

“Eat, Mel,” Bucky said, placing the bowl in front of her. She shook her head.

“Here,” Steve said, finding a piece of paper and a pen. “Will you at least write for us?” She slowly took the pen from Steve, thinking about it. She slowly wrote,  _ My name isn’t Mel _ . Steve and Bucky looked at each other, confused.

“What?” Bucky asked. “Your name is Mel.” She shook her head and wrote again, taking her time.  _ My name is Kyleigh _ .

“Then why did you say that your name was Mel?” asked Steve gently. She shook her head.  _ Because I didn’t remember then. _

“So you didn’t remember your name?” asked Bucky. She shook her head.  _ I didn’t remember my past. _ Steve and Bucky looked at each other sadly, then Steve pushed the bowl of fruit closer.

“Alright. We need to go do something. Eat while we’re gone, ok?” asked Steve. She nodded sadly, slowly picking at her fruit and bringing it to her mouth. Steve and Bucky went to find Tony. “Tony, we need your help,” Steve said, walking into Tony’s lab.

“What’s up capsicle?” he asked, turning to the two.

“Mel’s acting weird. She’s saying that her name isn’t Mel,” explained Steve.

“Well, did she lose her memory?” asked Tony.

“No, she says that she didn’t know her actual name ‘till she remembered her past,” said Bucky, crossing his arms.

“Well, let’s get Bruce and take her back to a conference room,” suggested Tony. Steve and Bucky shook their heads.

“That’ll scare her. Let’s ask first,” said Steve, turning to go upstairs and to the kitchen. Bucky and Tony followed. “Hey,” Steve said, sitting next to Mel by the island. “Would you be willing to answer some questions again?” he asked nicely. She nodded slowly. He smiled. “Tony, will you go get Bruce?” Tony nodded. “Alright, will you come with us?” Mel nodded, standing up. Steve led her to a small meeting room, sitting next to her. Bucky sat down on her other side. Tony walked in when Bruce following.

“Hello, Mel,” Bruce greeted, smiling as he sat down across from Mel. She gave a small smile. Tony sat down across from Steve.

“Alright Mel, we're just going to ask you a few questions. Let's start with something simple. Do you know where you are?” Tony asked. She nodded. They waited for a response, but she never spoke.

“Here,” Bucky said, sliding her a pen and paper. She took the pen and wrote A _ vengers tower _ . Tony nodded.

“Alright. What's your name?” Tony asked.  _ Kyleigh. _ Bruce and Tony looked to Steve and Bucky. “No, it’s Mel,” Tony says hesitantly, looking back at her. She shook her head.  _ My name is Kyleigh Rachelle Barnes _


	10. Chapter 10

“Barnes?” All four of them exclaimed. She nodded slowly. 

“Mel, that's not possible,” Bruce said, turning back to her. She shook her head again.

“It is,” she said softly. “It's also the same reason that I'm alive right now. When I was around 11, HYDRA captured me. They drive me along with the Winter Soldier. They unfroze me three years ago, making me with them. I did terrible things, but I managed to escape two years ago,” she explained softly.

“I remember now,” Bucky whispered. He looked down at her with sad eyes, suddenly grabbing her into a giant hug. “Thank god you're safe,” he whispered in her ear, tears coming to his eyes. “Thank god…” He hugged her tighter. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest, starting to cry as well. It got to the point where she was sobbing and Steve, Bruce, and Tony were becoming concerned. It sounded as if she was having trouble breathing. 

“Bucky, I know that you’re glad she’s ok, but can you loosen up a bit. She sounds like she’s struggling to breathe,” Steve said as he stood up. Bucky nodded, pulling away a bit. What the four of them saw almost gave them a heart attack. She was sobbing so hard that she started to hiccup, blood spilling over her chin.

“Whoa there, Kyleigh,” Steve said, placing a hand on her shoulder. He walked beside her. They all looked to see that blood was all over Bucky’s torso. “Bruce, go get a bowl,” Steve commanded. He nodded, running off.

“Kyleigh? What’s wrong? Do you need that orange stuff again?” Bucky asked worriedly. She shook her head, still sobbing. Her face was in her hands. She brought them away, blood pooled in her hand. Bruce ran back in and placed the bowl in front of her. She lurched forward, spitting into the bowl. She nodded her head quickly.

“Orange stuff,” she gasped out, coughing into the bowl. Bucky took off running, coming back quickly with the orange container. He opened it and lifted it to her lips. She drank the liquid, taking a few small sips. She pushed the container away, dropping to her knees. “No more,” she gasped out, grabbing her head with her hands. “No more.” The others looked at each other, concerned.

“What is this Mel?” asked Bruce, taking the container from Bucky. He crouched down beside her.

“It’s Kyleigh, remember?” said Tony.

“Some stabilizer crap,” she whispered. “HYDRA made it. Keeps me from coughing up all of my blood.”

“Why do you need it now?” asked Steve, sitting beside her.

“When I died a few days ago, it only killed part of me. The only part of me now is part of HYDRA’s doing. When they took me, they changed my appearance so I would look more like the Winter Soldier. I’ll be like this for a while unless you can find a way to speed up the process,” she said, moving so that she was sitting on the floor and not her feet.

“Can you stand?” Steve asked as he placed his arms around her shoulders. She shook her head.

“Headache… dizzy,” she said. Bucky kneeled down in front of her. He picked her up carefully.

“I got you. Let’s get you cleaned up,” Bucky said, looking at the other three men. “Do you think you can make more of that stuff Banner?”

“Possibly. I need to see what’s in it,” he said as he looked at the jar.

“Go ahead. It’s a bunch of crap that I don’t understand,” Kyleigh said, her head falling against Bucky. The four smiled, leaving the room. Steve took the bowl to the sink, washing it wall. Doctor Banner and Tony took the orange container to the lab as Bucky took Mel to her room. He walked into her bathroom, sitting her on the sink. She leaned back against the cabinet mirror.

“I’m going to get you a change of clothes,” he said as he left the room for a few seconds. He came back in with a fresh change of clothes for Kyleigh. “Do you think you could take a quick shower?” Bucky asked, placing the clothes beside her. She nodded.

“Yeah, maybe.” She slid off of the counter slowly, moving over to the shower. “Out,” she commanded, turning to him slightly. Bucky smiled sadly, closing the door as he left. He stood on the other side of the door until he heard her turn the water off. She was in there for a few minutes before he grew concerned. It shouldn’t take that long for someone to get dressed. He knocked softly on the door.

“Kyleigh, are you ok?” he asked, standing up. There was no reply. “I’m gonna come in, ok?” he asked as he slowly opened the door. He looked around the bathroom to see that Kyleigh was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, head in her hands. “Kyleigh? What’s wrong?” he asked as he kneeled down in front of her, placing his hand on her knee.

“Dizzy,” she said softly. Bucky looked at her softly.

“Alright. Well, why don’t we go lay down?” he asked softly.

“Carry me?” she asked, looking up to meet his eyes. Bucky could tell that she didn’t feel well just by looking at her eyes.

“Of course.” Bucky stood up and picked Kyleigh up, carrying her to her bed. He laid her down carefully and looked around. He spotted a hairbrush on her dresser. He walked over and picked it up. He turned to Kyleigh and walked over to her. He sat so that she was between his legs and leaning on his chest. He carefully sat her up and attempted to brush her hair. He managed to do so without much complaint. Kyleigh laid back as Bucky fell against the pillows. He moved her so that she was laying on the bed and his arm was wrapped around her. Within five minutes, they were both fast asleep.

Bucky woke up about two hours later. He found that both his arms were wrapped around his sister, her laying against his chest. She was still asleep, breathing lightly. He sighed, moving slowly so that he would not wake her up. He quietly unwrapped his arms from around you and stood up, stretching. He made sure that Kyleigh was ok before he left to go to the kitchen. When he walked in, he saw Wanda making lunch. She looked up from the stove and smiled.

“Hello Bucky,” she said quietly, turning back to her pot.

“Hello Wanda,” Bucky returned as he sat down at the island. “What’s for lunch?”

“Chili. I figured that it would last us a few meals. I heard about Mel. How is she?” Wanda asked.

“Actually, her name is Kyleigh. But she’s doing ok,” Bucky replied. Wanda stopped stirring the pot and turned to lean on the island, looking intrigued. 

“What do you mean? She said her name was Mel.”

“Yeah, well, it’s complicated. She didn’t remember much about herself, and she thought that her name was Mel, but then things happened and now she remembers everything about herself. People made her think that her name was Mel, but it wasn’t,” Bucky explained quickly.

“Oh, well that’s good, isn’t it?” she asked, turning back to the stove.

“Not necessarily. Bad things had happened to her,” Bucky admitted. Wanda made two bowls, sitting one in front of Bucky.

“Why don’t you go get her so she can eat?” Wanda asked, sitting her bowl on the island. Bucky nodded, getting up and walking back to Kyleigh’s room. He quietly opened the door and peeked his head in. She was still asleep. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Kyleigh?” asked Bucky quietly. He gently shook her shoulder. “Kyleigh? Time to wake up. Wanda made lunch. She groaned slightly, rolling onto her back and stretching. She relaxed and looked up at Bucky. He smiled. “Come on. Let’s go eat.” He stood up and faced Kyleigh. She smiled and stretched her hand out. Bucky took it and pulled her up to her feet. He threw his arm around her shoulders as they made their way to the kitchen. Kyleigh took a seat beside Bucky at the table. Bucky hand brought both of their bowls over as people started filing into the room.

“Hey, Kyleigh. How are you feeling?” Steve asked, walking over and sitting on her other side.

“M’ tired,” she said. “Just woke up.” Steve smiled, getting up and getting a bowl of chili. Tony and Bruce walked in next.

“Hey, Kyleigh,” Bruce greeted. He grabbed a bowl of chili and sat across from her. “Tony and I have been looking at all of the ingredients needed for your stabilizer and we ordered a lot of it. We should be able to make more.” She smiled.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. She took some cheese from a bowl on the table and added it to her bowl, mixing it around. Tony and Pepper came in, grabbing their food and sitting at the table. The few that showed up for lunch ate quietly, enjoying the silence. Then Kyleigh remembered. “Crap,” she said under her breath. Everyone turned to her.

“What’s wrong?” asked Bucky, afraid that she was going to need her stabilizer again.

“I just remembered. There’s a competition on Saturday,” she said, still looking down at her bowl. Bucky sighed with relief. They continued eating, then went their separate ways.

Saturday came quickly, and Kyleigh was feeling much better. She didn’t need to take her stabilizer much anymore, just once every few days. Her hair was starting to show slight streaks of blonde again, and she didn’t feel as dizzy. She planned on going to perform at the competition. Bucky and Steve would come along, just in case anything were to happen. She gathered everything that she would need and headed out the front door. Steve Drove as Bucky and Kyleigh sat in the back. They arrived at the high school band room where she got out and helped load stuff up. Bucky and Steve followed the bus in their car.

A few hours passed before they arrived and Kyleigh’s team took the floor. Kyleigh realized that all of the Avengers had come to watch her. They were amazed at all of the cool tricks the team could do. What surprised them most was when three of the 8 guard members, including Kyleigh, came up with wooden rifles. The Avengers cheered loudly when the team grabbed everything off of the floor. They sat around until awards, watching all of the other teams perform. Not long after their performance, Kyleigh’s team came back out and sat up in the bleachers, watching other teams until awards.

The guard director sent Kyleigh and another member down to represent their teams. They got a gold rating and came first of 10 teams. The Avengers cheered loudly and gradually made their way to the Avengers tower. Bucky and Steve continued to follow the bus back to the school and waited as they unloaded everything and Kyleigh got into the car.

“Great job Kyleigh!” Bucky exclaimed, turning to face her. She looked up, smiling.

“Thanks. Thank you for bringing me,” she said, buckling herself in and leaning against the window.

“No problem. Ready to go home?” Steve asked, putting the car in reverse. She nodded. She somehow made the trip home without falling asleep. When they arrived, the tower was silent.

“I’m going to shower and go to be,” Kyleigh said as she made her way to her room. Bucky and Steve said goodnight and went their separate ways. Steve went to his room while Bucky went to Kyleigh’s. He sat on her bed until she came out of the bathroom dressed in leggings and a hoodie. She looked up, surprised to see her brother in her room. She smiled. “Hey, Bucky.” She went and sat next to him, only on the floor. She started stretching.

“What are you doing?” he asked, looking at her quizzically. She looked up and smiled.

“I’m stretching. It’s best if I stretch before bed because if I don’t, then my legs cramp real bad and I can’t sleep.” Kyleigh stood up and laid down on the bed next to where Bucky was sitting. “What are you doing in here?” she asked. He laid down next to her.

“I’m staying with you. I can’t risk you staying alone yet. Not until you’re back to your normal self,” he admitted, sitting up on his arm. Kyleigh looked away sadly.

“Bucky… I won’t ever be the same. I’m not the same person as I was when we were younger before you and Steve went to fight in the war. Things have changed,” she said sadly, turning away from him.

“Hey,” Bucky said. “Look at me.” He took his metal hand and slowly turned her head to face him. His heart broke at the sight of the tears in her eyes. He stroked the side of her face. “It’ll be ok. We’ll get through this. You have me and Steve. We’re still here. Even the others are willing to help. Wanda, Pepper, and Natasha love you. It’s not very often that they get to help others. I can tell Tony likes having you around. Even Bruce likes you. It’ll be ok,” He said as he watched tears slowly fall down her face. He wiped them away, pulling her to him and laying down. “Everything will be just fine.” They stayed like until Kyleigh fell asleep. Bucky stayed up for another hour before falling asleep himself.

Bucky woke up three hours later. At first, he didn’t know why, but then he heard murmuring come from beside him. He opened his eyes to see that Kyleigh was thrashing around in her sleep, murmuring. He sat up on one arm and used his other to grab Kyleigh’s shoulder.

“Hey, Kyleigh, wake up,” he said groggily, pushing her so that she would stay still. But she had super strength like Bucky and Steve, so that didn’t really work out. Bucky jolted awake when he heard her scream, thrashing even harder. He jolted up and tried to hold her down, but she kept struggling.

“No! Stop!” she screamed, tears pouring down her face. She was still asleep. She screamed again, louder this time. Steve busted into the room with his shield.

“Bucky, what’s going on?” he asked, running over to them.

“I think she’s having a nightmare,” Bucky answered, still trying to calm his sister down. “Kyleigh! Wake up!” She continued to fight against him. Steve leaned his shield against the bed and went to Kyleigh’s other side.

“Kyleigh, it’s ok. You’re ok,” Steve said, trying to soothe her. Her eyes opened as she jumped out of bed, grabbing Steve’s shield. “Woah!” He went to grab his shield, but he hit him with it.

“Kyleigh!” Bucky exclaimed, going to take the shield from her. She threw it at him, but he caught it. “What’s wrong with you?” She looked at him, then was enveloped in a cloud of black smoke. When it cleared, she looked just like the Winter Soldier.

“What just happened?” asked Steve. Kyleigh turned to him, charging at him. She fought well, blocking all of Steve's moves and attacks before Bucky ran up behind her and hit the spot on her neck. She froze, slowly coming out of her trans.

“W-what happened?” She asked, looking at herself. She gasped and stepped back.

“You tried to attack us,” Steve explained, coming towards her. She looked at him with wild eyes.

“N-no,” she stuttered, running out of the room.

“Kyleigh!” Bucky called after her, chasing her out of the room. It took him a while, but he finally found his sister sitting on the roof. “Hey,” he said calmly, loving to sit next to her. She was crying.

“You shouldn't be here,” she whimpered. Bucky looked at her sadly.

“Why?” he asked. She looked down, sniffling.

“Because I'm a monster…” Bucky was shocked.

“Kyleigh-” he started.

“Bucky, don't argue. You know I'm right,” Kyleigh said, crying a bit harder.

“Hey, look at me-” he turned her head to face him, holding it there. “You're not a monster. What happened wasn't your fault. HYDRA did this to you and you can't control it. I should know…” Bucky trailed off.

“What do you mean?” Kyleigh asked. Bucky looked into her eyes.

“Kyleigh, do you know who I am?” he asked slowly.

“Yeah. You're Bucky, my brother. We grew up together. Steve's your best friend. You were drafted into the war.”

“Yes, but you're missing something. Kyleigh, I'm the Winter Soldier. I'm the one that introduced you to HYDRA. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that to you.” Tears started to fall down his cheeks. “I'm so sorry…” He started sobbing.

“Bucky, it's not your fault,” Kyleigh said, crying harder. “It never was your fault.” She moved closer to him, burying herself into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, not letting her go.

“Just remember, you're not alone. You're never alone.” Bucky buried his face in Kyleigh's hair. They stayed like that until Bucky could hear Kyleigh’s soft breathing. He carefully picked her up, carrying her to his room this time. He sat on the bed and held her close to him, falling asleep against the wall.

“Bucky? Bucky, wake up,” Steve said as he shook Bucky’s shoulder gently. Bucky groaned slightly, opening his eyes.

“What?” he asked groggily.

“JARVIS found another abandoned HYDRA base. We need to go check it out,” Steve explained. Bucky looked down at Kyleigh, moving so that she was lying on the bed. “She’ll be ok, Buck.” Steve placed his hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention.

“I know, but I don’t want to leave her here alone. What if something goes wrong? What if HYDRA tries to get her? What if she were to try to kill herself again?” Bucky asked, panicked.

“Bucky, she’ll be ok. Bruce offered to stay here with her. Now come on, let’s suit up and get going.” Steve left the room. Bucky sighed, getting up to suit up. Just as he was tying his shoe, there was a knock on the door.

“It’s open,” he called, tying his other shoe. Bruce stuck his head in and smiled.

“Hey Bucky. Is Kyleigh awake?” he asked, fully walking into the room.

“Yeah,” Kyleigh said, spooking Bucky. He turned around to look at her.

“When did you wake up?” He asked. She smiled.

“About five minutes ago,” she said, stretching and yawning. She sat up and turned to Bruce. “What do you need?”

“Well, you’re staying with me today,” he explained. Kyleigh frowned and looked at Bucky.

“Why?” she asked. Bucky looked at her sadly.

“Kyleigh, I need to go on a mission. Bruce volunteered to stay here with you,” he explained.

“Where are you going?” Kyleigh asked.

“An abandoned HYDRA base,” Bucky said as he stood up. Kyleigh moved to get off of the bed, standing beside her brother.

“Ok,” she said sadly, then smiled when she met Bruce’s gaze. “I’m going to go take a shower.” She walked across the hall to her room, closing the door behind her.

“Keep a close eye on her, will you?” Bucky asked. “She’s like me. Dreams that she’s with HYDRA and tries to attack people when she wakes up.”

“Of course,” said Bruce. “She’ll be fine.” Bucky nodded, leaving to go to the quinjet. Bruce waited in the kitchen for Kyleigh. She came in about twenty minutes later, wearing black leggings and a black sweatshirt. “Here Kyleigh. Wanda saved you some breakfast,” he said as he handed her a plate of pancakes.

“Thank you,” she replied, pouring syrup over the pancakes and eating them. When she was finished, she placed the plate in the sink.

“What do you want to do today?” asked Bruce. Kyleigh turned to him.

“I don’t know. What do you want to do?” she asked. Bruce smiled.

“I didn’t have any plans today, except for working in the lab, if that’s ok with you?” Kyleigh smiled as well.

“I don’t mind. I think I’ll just practice my guard routine. Bucky mentioned a gym area. Can you show me where it is?”

“Of course.” Bruce stood up, leading the way to the gym. “The lab is on the bottom floor, first door to the right. You can’t miss is. Let me know if you need anything, alright?” Kyleigh nodded, going to her room and grabbing all of her guard supplies. She put on her gloves and found cones in one of the closets. She set them where they needed to be and turned on the music they were using for their show. After an hour, she stopped for a water break, then practiced riffle. As she did a single, the riffle came down and hit her wrist.

“Crap!” Kyleigh exclaimed, pulling her hand to her chest. “That hurt!” 

“Miss Barnes, would you like me to get help?” asked JARVIS. Kyleigh shook her head.

“No, JARVIS. I’m good,” she said, picking up her rifle with her good hand. She placed all of her guard equipment in the corner and returned the cones before going to the kitchen to get a pack of ice. She wrapped it in a towel and held it against her wrist as she made her way down to the lab. Kyleigh opened the door quietly, walking up to Bruce. “What are you working on?” She asked, looking over his shoulder. He jumped slightly, turning to her.

“Oh, Kyleigh. You scared me. I’m working on making more of your serum, just so we can keep some everywhere,” Bruce explained. He looked down at Kyleigh’s wrist and frowned, taking it into his hands. Kyleigh winced at the movement. “What happened?”

“I just hit it wrong with my rifle. It’s ok, though. I’ve done it before,” she explained.

“Well let me look at it,” said Bruce as he guided her over to a table. “Just sit right here.” Kyleigh hopped onto the table as Bruce left. He came back with medical tape. He took her wrist again, looking at it carefully. “Does this hurt?” he asked, poking around. Kyleigh winced.

“Yeah.”

“Alright. It’s just sprained. I’ll wrap it so it doesn’t get worse,” he said as he pulled out the tape. He wrapped her wrist and handed her her ice pack.

“Thank you,” she said, hopping off of the table.

“Hey, Kyleigh?” asked Bruce as he turned back to the serum.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“Do you like Legos?”

“Yeah, actually. I do. They fill time,” she answered as she followed him over. He pulled a giant container out from under the table.

“Well then, do you mind taking these upstairs. They’re taking up too much room. You can build them if you want. We don’t use them,” Bruce said smiling. Kyleigh smiled as well.

“Sure. Thanks.” she lifted the box with her good arm and held it with her other forearm as she carried the box to her room. She sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, opening the box. There were several instructions for several different sets. She pulled out a set of instructions for a Lego Ninjago set, rummaging through the pieces, entertaining herself with the legos until Bucky got home, which was about one in the morning. The first thing he did when he got home was go to his sister’s room to make sure she was okay. When he went to her door, he saw that her light was still on. He slowly opened the door, poking his head in. He was surprised to see that Kyleigh was sitting on the floor, right arm wrapped in medical tape, and her piecing legos together.

“Hey Kyleigh,” he smiled, walking into the room. Kyleigh looked up and smiled back.

“Hey, Bucky. How did it go?” she asked, going back to her legos.

“It was ok. We found several different files. Tony’s going to go through them with Steve. What happened to your arm?” Bucky asked as he sat down next to Kyleigh. She looked at him.

“I was practicing rifle work and I hit my wrist. Bruce said that it was just sprained, though. It’ll be fine.” She turned back to the instructions, scrummaging for pieces. Bucky looked over at her window seat. There were several different lego sets sitting there.

“Did you build all of those?” he asked, pointing to the sets in the window. Kyleigh turned to look at what he was pointing at, nodding.

“Yeah.”

“How long did it take for you to build all of them?”

“Well, I’ve been working almost all day.” Bucky turned back to her.

“Well, it’s one in the morning kiddo. Go get ready for bed.” Kyleigh nodded, standing up and went to the bathroom. She came back a few minutes later and jumped onto the bed. “I’m going to go shower and change,” Bucky said as he stood up. “Get me if you need anything.” Bucky came back thirty minutes later to see that Kyleigh was sound asleep. He smiled, then returned to his room to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Kyleigh woke up at around nine the next morning. The sun was shining through the window. She got out of bed and went to get her hairbrush, but she stepped on a lego. “Ow!” she cried, grabbing her foot. Bucky burst into the room.

“Kyleigh? What’s wrong?” he asked as he ran over to her.

“I stepped on a lego!” she cried, holding her foot. Bucky started to laugh. “Don’t laugh! It hurts,” she said, getting away from Bucky and grabbing a change of clothes. She walked to the bathroom and Bucky could hear the shower start. He frowned.  _ Why was she in a bad mood? _ He decided that she should be left alone so he went down to the kitchen.

“Hey Bucky,” Steve greeted, sitting at the table. He noticed Bucky's look. “What's wrong?” Bucky shook good head.

“Kyleigh seems a bit off today,” he explained as he sat next to his friend.

“Is it because of HYDRA?” Steve asked quietly. Bucky shrugged.

“I don't know.” Natasha sat down across from them.

“What's going on?” she asked, looking between the two.

“Kyleigh's acting a bit off today,” Steve says, looking to Natasha. They ate breakfast in silence before Bucky went to check on his sister.

“Kyleigh?” He asked, knocking on the door. He cracked it open, looking into the room. Kyleigh was sitting on her bed with a book, earbuds in. She looked up at Bucky, then back down at her book. Bucky walked over and sat down on the side of the bed, looking at her. She continued to read. He looked at the title of the book,  _ The Lost Hero. _ “Hey.” She looked back up at him, pausing her music and pulling her earbuds out.

“Hey,” she said quietly, closing her book.

“What’s wrong?” asked Bucky. “You seemed a bit angry this morning.”

“Nothings wrong,” she replied as she looked away. “I just wasn’t in a good mood earlier.”

“Hey,” Bucky said. “Look at me.” He pulled Kyleigh’s face towards him. “Something is bothering you. What is it?” He could see that Kyleigh was on the verge of tears.

“Nothing’s bothering me. I’m going to go get some fresh air.” She stood up and quickly made her way out of the room.

Natasha was in the training gym with Wanda. They both were working on different things. Wanda was practicing controlling her powers and Natasha was practicing her aim. They both froze when they heard the door open. They watched as Kyleigh walked into the room.

“Hello, Kyleigh,” Wanda greeted. “What brings you here?” Kyleigh looked up at them. Wanda and Natasha both could see that she wasn’t ok. “Honey, what’s wrong?” Kyleigh shook her head.

“I-I was going to, never mind. I’ll go,” Kyleigh said as she turned to leave.

“No no, it’s ok. Stay. What’s wrong?” asked Natasha. Kyleigh shook her head again.

“N-nothing.” Her voice shook. Wanda walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her around. She was looking at the ground, trying not to cry.

“Oh, honey.” Wanda pulled her into a hug. Then Kyleigh broke. She started sobbing. Wanda turned to Natasha with a worried look on her face. She came over as well. “It’s ok.” After a few minutes, Kyleigh had calmed down enough to talk so Natasha and Wanda lead her over to a bench.

“Kyleigh, what’s wrong?” asked Natasha. “And don’t say anything.” Kyleigh leaned down and propped her elbows on her knees, hiding her face in her hands.

“I don’t feel good. I’m hot and cold at the same time and everything hurts,” she explained.

“Kyleigh, honey. Look at me,” Wanda instructed. Kyleigh looked up and Wanda felt her forehead. “You feel a bit warm. Why don’t you go lie down and take a nap? See if that helps.” Kyleigh nodded, standing up slowly. She left the room and went to her own. Bucky had left. She turned off the light and laid down, falling asleep quickly.

After Kyleigh had left, Natasha and Wanda had set out to find Bucky, or at least Steve. After searching for several minutes, they found Steve in the lounge, reading on a Starkpad. “Hey Rogers,” Natasha said, sitting next to him. He looked up and smiled.

“Hey, Natasha. Hello Wanda. What do you need?” he asked kindly. Wanda sat on the other side of Steve.

“Hello, Steve. Do you know where Bucky is?” Wanda asked.

“Yeah. He left to go into town. Why?” he asked, turning his attention to Wanda.

“Kyleigh doesn’t feel well,” she said. Steve frowned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“She said that she didn’t feel well. She was hot and cold and she said that everything hurt,” Natasha described.

“We had her go lie down for a bit to see if that helps,” Wanda said.

“Alright. I’ll go check on her,” Steve said as he stood up, placing the Starkpad on the coffee table and making his way to Kyleigh’s room. He knocked on the door softly before stepping into the room. He saw that Kyleigh was asleep and he sat down next to her, feeling for a fever. She felt slightly warm, so he asked JARVIS to check her temperature.

“101.2, Captain Rogers,” JARVIS responded. He thanked him, standing up. Steve walked to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and some toast, bringing it back to Kyleigh’s room. He set everything down on the nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Kyleigh?” he asked softly. “Kyleigh, wake up, hun.” She groaned softly, rolling onto her back. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Bucky?” she slurred quietly. Steve frowned a bit.

“No, honey. It’s Steve.” She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Oh.”

“Will you sit up for me?” he asked. She nodded. Steve slipped his arm under her back to help her sit up, but she fell over.

“No,” she said quietly.

“What? What’s wrong?” Steve asked, concerned.

“Dizzy,” she said as she grabbed her head. Steve moved to sit at the headboard, gently pulling her up to lean on him. He grabbed the water and gently put it to Kyleigh’s mouth.

“Will you drink some water?” he asked. She took a few sips before turning her head. He set the cup down and grabbed the plate of toast. “Do you think you can eat anything?” Kyleigh shrugged. “Will you try?” She nodded, grabbing the toast and nibbling on it. After a few minutes, she had finished both things of toast.

“Steve?” Kyleigh asked.

“Hm?”

“Where’s Bucky?” She looked up at him.

“He went into town. He’ll be back soon, though,” he replied. “Why don’t you go back to sleep?” She nodded, handing him her plate and curling up next to him. She pulled her blanket around her and fell asleep quickly. Steve sat the plate down on the side table and wrapped his arm around Kyleigh, turning the TV on to entertain himself. He watched TV for about an hour before Wanda knocked on the door.

“Hey,” she said quietly, stepping into the room. “How’s Kyleigh?” Steve looked down at Kyleigh, sighing.

“She’s still warm, but I got her to eat and drink some water. She said she was dizzy though. I’m gonna see if Bucky wants Tony to look at her since Bruce isn’t here,” Steve replied.

“Well, he’s almost here. He should arrive any moment,” Wanda said. “Would you like me to get anything?” Steve smiled.

“Can you let Bucky know to come here when he gets back?” asked Steve.

“Of course,” Wanda replied as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Steve went back to watching the tv. After 20 minutes, Steve could hear voices on the other side of the door. “She isn’t feeling well, so Steve stayed here with her.” The door opened and Bucky and Wanda walked in. Bucky rushed over to the bed, worried.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quickly, looking over his sister. Steve moved off of the bed slowly as not to wake Kyleigh.

“Bucky, it’s ok. She’s just not feeling well,” he explained, laying a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “Do you want Tony to take a look at her? Since Bruce isn’t here?” Steve asked. Bucky nodded. “JARVIS, send Tony in here.” Tony walked in a few minutes later.

“What’s up, capsicle?” he asked as he walked over to the bed.

“Can you look at Kyleigh? She isn’t feeling well,” asked Steve. Tony frowned slightly.

“Sure.” He sat down on the side of the bed and laid his hand on Kyleigh’s shoulder. “Kyleigh?” She didn’t stir. He tried again. “Kyleigh?” He shook her shoulder slightly. Bucky ran his hand through her hair.

“Hey, Kyleigh. Wake up, ok?” She rolled onto her back. She growled and mumbled a few words.

“Hey there kiddo,” Tony said. “Can you sit up?” She shook her head, not opening her eyes.

“She was really dizzy earlier,” Steve said as he pulled a chair over. Tony nodded.

“I’m going to help you up, ok?” He moved over so that he could help her sit up and she could lean on him. He sat her up slowly to help with the dizziness. Her head dropped onto his shoulder. “Are you dizzy?” She nodded. “JARVIS, what’s her temperature?”

“102, sir,” JARVIS replied. “If I may, sir. It seems as if Miss Barnes has the flu.” Bucky’s eyes widened.

“The flu!” he exclaimed.

“Bucky. It’s ok. She’ll be fine,” assured Steve.

“How bad is it?” asked Tony.

“For Miss Barnes, all that you need to be concerned about is dizziness, loss of appetite, dehydration, and nausea,” answered JARVIS. Tony sighed.

“That isn’t too bad. Wanda, will you go get some water?” Tony asked. She nodded, leaving the room. Tony looked down at Kyleigh. Her head was resting on his shoulder and her eyes were closed. Bucky ran his hand through her hair again. She sighed.

“How do you feel?” Bucky asked. She mumbled an answer, her words slurring together. “Hm?” She didn’t respond. Wanda walked in with a glass of water, handing it to Bucky. “Here. Drink some water.” He placed the cup of water to her lips. She took a few sips and turned away.

“Is it alright if I go?” asked Tony, looking at Bucky. He nodded. Bucky stood up and took Tony’s spot as he got up. “Call me if you need anything.” He walked out of the room. Steve looked over to Wanda.

“You can go, too.” She smiled.

“Alright, but don’t hesitate to get me if you need anything.” Then it was just Bucky, Steve, and Kyleigh in the room. Bucky moved so that Kyleigh was laying on his chest.

“Why did you go into town?” asked Steve. Bucky looked over to him.

“I needed some fresh air. Why?” he asked.

“I was just wondering,” Steve replied. They sat in silence for a while, the only noise coming from the tv.

“You can go, Steve. You don’t need to stay here,” Bucky said. Steve looked at him sadly.

“I have a better idea. It’s going to take a while for her to get over the flu, so why don’t we have rotation? You can stay with her for a bit, then I will,” Steve offered. Bucky thought about it.

“Alright. But I want first rotation.” Steve nodded, walking out of the room.

“Let me know if you need anything.” Bucky relaxed against the bed and fell asleep.

“Hey, kiddo. How do you feel?” There was a bit of mumbling. “Are you still dizzy?” Something moved. “Here, let’s drink some water.” Most of the weight lifted from on top of him. The bed dipped beside him and Bucky could hear movement. “Atta girl. Say, your blonde is coming back. That’s good. Do you think you could eat something?” More mumbling. The weight on top of him lifted. “Where are you going?” Bucky rolled over onto his side, opening his eyes slowly.

“What’s going on?” he asked groggily. He saw that Kyleigh was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed and that Tony was sitting on the side of the bed. Tony turned to him, smiling.

“Good evening, sleepyhead. I was just checking up on blondie,” Tony replied.

“How is she?” Bucky asked, running a hand over his face as he sat up. Tony stood.

“Her fever is about the same, and she’s still dizzy. That’s most likely the reason she can’t speak very well. I managed to get her to drink some water. I’m trying to get her to eat, but she rolled onto the floor. I have no idea what she’s doing.” He motioned to Kyleigh. Bucky looked at her, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and leaned his elbows on his knees.

“Where are you going?” he asked with a chuckle. She threw her hand towards the door, looking at it and mumbling. “What?”

She tried to stand up but fell back to the floor. Kyleigh growled. “What’s wrong?” asked Tony, hands on his hips. She lay on the floor on her back.

“What in the world are you doing?” asked Bucky as he stood, looking down at his sister. She managed to slide across the floor to the door. She pulled herself up using the handle and opening the door, laying back down and sliding down the hall. Tony and Bucky shared a laugh, following her. She got to the elevator, slapping the button and her desired floor. Bucky and Tony walked along with her. The elevator opened and she slid across the floor towards the kitchen. “Alright. That’s enough.” Bucky said, stopping Kyleigh and picking her up. He finished the walk to the kitchen and sat her down in a chair at the table. She leaned forward and rested her arms on the table. Tony walked over and placed a bowl of soup and some crackers on the table. She picked up the spoon and stirred the soup.

“Come on now,” said Tony. “You need to eat.” She looked at him, then picked up a cracker and dipped it in the soup, eating the crackers slowly.

“Do you want the soup?” asked Bucky. She shook her head. After she finished the crackers Bucky took the bowl and stuck it in the sink.

“Do you feel ok?” Tony asked Kyleigh. She shook her head. “What’s wrong?” She mumbled. “Do you feel dizzy?” She nodded. “Tired?” She nodded again.

“Alright then,” Bucky said as he walked back to them. “Let’s get you back to bed.” He picked Kyleigh up, thanked Tony, then walked down the hall. Once they reached the hall where their rooms were, Steve stepped out of his own. He noticed Bucky and smiled.

“Hey, Buck. I was just heading over to watch Kyleigh,” he said. Bucky smiled as well.

“Alright. She just ate.” The three went to Kyleigh’s room, Bucky laying her down on her bed. “Water’s right there.” He pointed to the nightstand. “Come get me if anything goes wrong.” Bucky ruffled his sister’s hair. “Get some sleep.” He walked out of the room. Steve sat down beside her.

“Alright, Kyleigh. Let’s get some sleep.” He moved so that Kyleigh’s head was in his lap, pulling a blanket around her. She grabbed one of the pillows and turned to face the tv, staring at it blankly. Steve started to run his hands through her hair, remembering that when she was sick, she would curl up on the couch with Bucky when she was younger. Steve would always want to help, but with his weak immune system, he couldn’t do anything. Bucky would let him cook, though. Steve looked down to see that Kyleigh’s eyes were closed. He leaned back and relaxed against the headboard, picking up a Starkpad that was sitting on the bedside table, reading.


	12. Chapter 12

Steve stayed with Kyleigh until dinner. Tony had come in a few hours after lunch to make sure that Kyleigh was doing ok. “Has she been asleep this whole time?” he had asked.

“Almost,” Steve had replied. When dinner came, Bucky came in with more crackers and a glass of water.

“Hey Steve,” he greeted, sitting the food on the bedside table. Steve looked up, smiling.

“Hello, Bucky.” He looked down at the sleeping child on his lap, then back to his best friend. Bucky turned and knelt down to be eye level with Kyleigh. He looked up at Steve.

“How long has she been asleep?” he asked quietly.

“Pretty much ever since you left her in here,” Steve responded.

“Alright then. Hey Kyleigh,” Bucky said, placing his hand on her hip. “Wake up, kiddo.” She didn’t stir. He shook her slightly. “Kyleigh.” She sighed, then started to stretch. Kyleigh then relaxed and pulled the blanket closer to her. “Kyleigh. Come on, kiddo, wake up.” Both Steve and Bucky could hear her mumble something faint.

“Kyleigh, you need to eat,” Steve said, moving his legs so that he was sitting criss-cross, sitting up. Her head fell to the bed. Bucky stood and sat at the edge of the bed, picking up his sister and placing her in his lap. She sighed and leaned into his touch. She felt very warm,

“JARVIS, what’s Kyleigh’s temperature?” Bucky asked worriedly.

“103.1, Mr. Barnes. I suggest trying to lower her temperature,” JARVIS replied. Bucky turned to Steve worriedly.

“What do I do?” Bucky asked quietly. Steve moved to sit next to his friend, feeling Kyleigh’s forehead and frowned.

“Take her to my room, it’s colder in there. I’ll go get a wet rag.” Bucky nodded, carrying Kyleigh over to Steve’s room and laying her down on the bed. Steve walked in not too long later and placed a cool, wet rag on Kyleigh’s face. “Hey, Kyleigh. Can you hear me?” Steve asked quietly. She made a soft groaning sound. “How do you feel?”

“Bad,” she said in a soft whisper. Steve looked at her, worried.

“Do you feel like you might get sick?” She shook her head.

“Do you think you might need your serum?” Bucky asked. She nodded. Bucky walked briskly out of the room. Kyleigh moved around the bed, settling for laying on her back and turning her head to the side opposite of Steve. Bucky walked back in, setting the serum on the desk near the bed. “Kyleigh?”

“Let her rest, Buck. She needs it.” Steve and Bucky both sat down next to the bed in silence. Twenty minutes passed before they did anything. “JARVIS, what’s her temperature now?” Steve asked.

“103.6, Captain Rogers. She is severely dehydrated. I have alerted Mr. Stark,” JARVIS replied. Tony walked in.

“What’s going on?” he asked, walking to the opposite side of the bedform Steve and Bucky.

“Kyleigh’s temperature is really high and she’s dehydrated,” answered Steve. Tony looked down at her face, his eyes widening.

“What in the world?” he asked, turning Kyleigh’s head. Bucky shot up when he saw that blood was running down the corner of her mouth. It looked as if she had been bleeding for quite a while, and the bed proved so. It was soaked in blood. Bucky grabbed the serum from the desk and sat Kyleigh up.

“Kyleigh?” he asked frantically, shaking her. She groaned. 

“Stop,” she whined. Bucky lifted the container to her lips.

“Drink this.” He poured some of the liquid into her mouth. She swallowed it, gagging slightly. She fell against Bucky.

“Take her down to the medbay,” Tony instructed. Bucky picked her up gently, taking her down to the medbay and laid her down on one of the beds. He walked over to the sink, wetting a rag and wiping the blood off of Kyleigh’s face.

“Bucky…” she moaned softly. He set the rag down and took her hand.

“Yeah, babydoll?” he said quietly.

“M’ don’t feel good.” He smiled sadly.

“I know, sweetheart. I know.” Tony walked in with an IV.

“I’ll need to hook her up to an IV to keep her hydrated,” he said, walking over to Kyleigh’s right side and getting the IV ready. Kyleigh was fine until she spotted the needle. Bucky knew what he was about to do, so he sat on the bed and pulled her to his chest, turning her head away and hiding her from the needle. Tony quickly found a vein and started the IV. “Alright. I’m going to go get something for blondie to eat.” Tony walked out of the room. Bucky laid Kyleigh back down onto the bed. He looked at her closely. She was extremely pale, her cheeks flushed and eyes glossy. She looked absolutely terrible.

“Do you feel any better?” he asked. Kyleigh turned her head to him.

“No,” she said quietly. Steve walked in with Tony.

“Hey, Kyleigh,” he greeted, taking a seat next to Bucky. Tony handed Bucky some crackers and soup.

“Have her eat this. See if she can keep it down. Call if anything happens.” Tony walked out of the room. Steve pulled the table over the bed and Bucky placed the food on the table,

“Here you go.” She just stared at the bowl.

“You gotta eat, Kyleigh,” Steve said. She continued to stare at the bowl.

“Will you at least eat the crackers?” Bucky asked pleadingly. She looked over to him, then back at the food.

“Ok.” Bucky smiled slightly, picking up the crackers and opening them. He pulled one out and handed it to Kyleigh. She took it and nibbled on it slowly. Bucky turned to Steve.

“You can go, Steve. We’ll be ok,” Bucky said. Steve smiled.

“You sure?” he asked. Bucky nodded. Steve stood and left the room, telling Kyleigh goodbye. Bucky handed Kyleigh another cracker.

“You doing ok? Feel like you might throw up?” Bucky asked. She shook her head. Kyleigh managed to eat all of the crackers, dipping a few in the soup. Bucky grabbed a bottle of water, opening it and handing it to Kyleigh. “Drink this. It’ll make you feel better.” She took huge gulps of the cool water, drinking almost all of it.

“Bucky?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, baby girl?” Bucky asked, setting the bottle of water and the bowl of soup on the bedside table. “What’s wrong?”

“M’ bored.” Bucky smiled.

“How about some tv?” She shrugged. Bucky picked up the remote and turned the channel to  _ The Middle. _ “Can I sit here?” he asked, pointing to the bed. She nodded, moving over. Bucky sat down and Kyleigh moved so that she could lay on Bucky’s chest. Bucky threw his arm around his sister, relaxing against the bed and watching the tv. After the first episode, Kyleigh was out like a light.

Tony walked in two hours later. “How is she?” Bucky looked away from the tv and to Tony.

“A bit better. She managed to eat the whole thing of crackers. She didn’t want the soup. She drank half a bottle of water, though.” Tony walked over and felt Kyleigh’s forehead.

“JARVIS, what’s Kyleigh’s temperature?”

“102.5, sir.”

“Good,” Tony said, adjusting the IV. “She’s doing better, but I want to keep her here overnight.” Bucky nodded, moving to get off of the bed. Kyleigh was hot.

“Can I leave her here?” he asked. Tony nodded.

“Yeah. She’ll be ok. JARVIS is now programmed to inform any of us if something goes on.”

“Thanks, Tony. I mean it,” Bucky said, walking out of the room. He showered and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a black hoodie. Bucky walked to the kitchen to see Steve cutting up a small bowl of fruit. He looked up.

“Hey, Bucky. I was just about to bring this down to Kyleigh. How is she?”

“Her fever dropped quite a bit, and she’s not as dehydrated as she was.” Bucky walked over and grabbed a water from the fridge, taking a giant swig of it.

“Let’s go back down,” Steve said as he grabbed the fruit and walked to the medbay. Bucky followed. When they arrived, Tony was talking to Kyleigh, who was now awake.

“So you’re in high school?” Tony asked. Kyleigh nodded. “And you moved from Indiana?” She nodded again.

“Yeah. I lived in southern Indiana in the country. I liked it ‘cause I didn’t have to be around people all the time, and I could drive anything I wanted to.” Kyleigh spotted Steve and Bucky, looking away from Tony. Once he saw that she wasn’t looking at him anymore, he turned to also see Steve and Bucky. They both walked over to the bed, Steve sitting in the chair and Bucky sitting on the side of the bed.

“Hey Kyleigh,” Steve greeted. “I brought some fruit if you think you can eat anything.” Kyleigh looked into the bowl and took it slowly.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, picking up part of a strawberry. She ate the bowl of fruit as the three adults talked around her. When she was finished, Steve took the bowl from her, sitting it on the counter across the room.

“Alright, well, I suggest getting some sleep and drinking plenty of water,” said Tony as he stood up. “Night kiddo.” He ruffled Kyleigh’s hair slightly and left the room. Steve turned to look at Bucky.

“Are you going to stay here, or do you want me too?” he asked. Bucky thought about it, looking to his sister.

“Do you care?” he asked her. She shook her head.

“I can stay here by myself, too,” she offered. Bucky shook his head.

“Absolutely not. I’m not leaving you by yourself. Could you stay with her Steve?” he asked. 

Steve smiled, “Of course.” 

Bucky bent down and kissed Kyleigh’s forehead. “Feel better, babydoll.” He left the room, closing the door softly.

“Well, sweetheart, let’s sleep,” Steve said, turning off the light.

“Can we watch tv?” she asked. Steve smiled.

“I guess.” Kyleigh picked up the remote and turned on  _ The Middle. _

“You must really like this show,” Steve said, getting into bed. Kyleigh turned to him, smiling.

“I do. It’s funny.” Both of them relaxed against their beds, Steve falling asleep quickly. Kyleigh managed to stay up until midnight, falling asleep around 12:15.

_ The HYDRA agents quickly marched down the hall with the soldier’s guard in between them, gripping her by the elbows. They walked through a set of double doors, throwing her down into a metal chair. It had been too long since they had last wiped her memory. She was starting to remember who she was. The agents strapped the guard’s arms and wrists to the chair, along with her legs. That’s when she started to struggle. _

_“Что делаешь? Отпусти меня!” She exclaimed, trying to break free from the chair. The agents ignored her, trying to strap her neck down. But it didn’t work. The guard was struggling too much. “Где мой брат?” she asked, screaming it when they didn’t respond. “Где он?” The soldiers moved so that the guard had a clear line of sight to the winter soldier._

_ “Баки?” she asked hopefully. He looked at her blankly, grabbing her head and holding it still so that he could finish strapping her down. She looked at him, frightful. “Баки? Что делаешь? Помоги мне! Пожалуйста!” she cried, trying to get to her brother. He didn’t even look at her, walking through the doors to leave the room. The soldier’s guard started to cry as the HYDRA agents turned on the machine, the guard screaming in agony as she started to lose her memory again. _

“Kyleigh! Kyleigh, wake up!” Steve exclaimed, shaking Kyleigh roughly. It was 2:30 in the morning and he just woke up. He had heard Kyleigh screaming and crying, thrashing in her bed next to him. He had jumped up, rushing to see what was wrong. “Come on Kyleigh. It’s ok, you’re safe.” That didn’t work either. He had to calm her down before she rips out an IV or something. His only other solution was to splash water on her face. He grabbed her cup of water from the nightstand beside him, spilling it all over Kyleigh. Even that didn’t work. Steve then tried grabbing Kyleigh’s wrists, pinning her down to the bed. “Kyleigh, you need to calm down!” Just then the door burst open and Bucky had bolted into the room and over to the bed. He looked Panicked. Steve let go of Kyleigh and got off of her as Bucky reached out and grabbed his sister. She was still screaming and thrashing around. Blood was running down her arm from where the IV had been ripped out. Bucky moved so that he was cradling Kyleigh, holding her close to his chest.

“Shh, Kyleigh, it’s ok. I got you now,” Bucky whispered into her ear. He continued to say sweet nothings to her as Steve rushed to get a rag, taking Kyleigh’s arm and wiping away the blood, starting to wrap it with gauze. Eventually, Kyleigh stopped trying to fight against Bucky but then started to writhe in pain. “Kyleigh?” Bucky asked worriedly, concern and fear written all over his face. “Babydoll, what’s wrong?” Suddenly, an idea popped into Bucky’s head. He quickly hit the small of Kyleigh’s neck, seeing if that did anything, but it only made it worse. “Steve, go get help,” Bucky pleaded as he looked up at his best friend. Steve nodded, bolting out of the room and to the elevator. He had sprinted into Tony’s room, busting through the door. Tony shot up quickly, startled by the large noise.

“Tony, help. Something’s wrong with Kyleigh,” Steve gasped out. Tony jumped out of bed and threw a hoodie on over his tank top. 

“What’s going on? What’s wrong with Kyleigh?” asked Pepper, making herself known and also getting out of bed. Steve looked over to her.

“I don’t know. She won’t stop screaming and she looks as though she is in pain.” The three of them quickly made their way to the medbay. When they made it to the room, what they saw was terrible. Kyleigh was on the ground, clutching her head and screaming. Her voice was raw beyond raw because of how long she had been screaming. Bucky was crouched down next to her, trying to calm her down, but he looked up when Tony and Pepper ran over to them. Tony slid across the floor on his knees, stopping just in time to reach Kyleigh. He laid his hand on her shoulder, trying to look into her eyes. He looked back at Pepper and Steve.

“Get me a sedative and a glass of water, and a bowl,” he commanded. Steve rummaged through cabinets, bringing a sedative to Tony while Pepper got a bowl and a glass of cold water. Tony injected the sedative into Kyleigh’s forearm, ready to catch her if she fell. She quickly quit screaming, calming down and slumping against Tony, unconscious. Tony moved so that he was sitting on his butt and Kyleigh was in a comfortable position, lying against his chest, head tilted inward. “JARVIS, what just happened?”

“Miss Barnes has had a severe anxiety attack, along with a panic attack and a terrible nightmare. My best guess is that the nightmare caused the attacks.” Bucky looked absolutely broken. Steve went and sat next to his friend, throwing an arm around his shoulders. Pepper sat next to Tony, looking at Kyleigh, noticing the bandage in the crook of her arm.

“What happened there?” she asked quietly, pointing to the bandage. 

“She accidentally ripped the IV out,” Steve explained. Everyone looked to Kyleigh when they heard a soft moan. Tony shifted his arms so that one arm supported her and one arm lay against her stomach.

“Is she waking up?” asked Bucky. Tony continued to look down at the child in his arms.

“I don’t know. She could just be reacting to the sedative.” They sat there for a few more minutes, waiting for Kyleigh to wake up. Around 3:30, she gave signs of waking up. First, she started to moan, then she moved ever so slightly. “Kyleigh?” Tony asked quietly. “Are you awake?” She moved so that she was curled up slightly. “Come on, kiddo.”

“Tony?” He had to bend his head real low to even hear her, smiling when he understood what she was saying.

“Yeah, kiddo. I’m Tony.” She sighed heavily. He reached for the glass of water, Pepper handing it to him. He placed it in the hand that was around Kyleigh and took the bowl with the other, laying it next to him.

“What’s the bowl for?” asked Steve. Tony looked at him.

“The kind of sedatives we have here tend to mess with your stomach, and she has the flu, so we have a greater risk of her throwing up.” He took the glass with his free hand and lifted Kyleigh a bit. “Hey, Kyleigh. Can you drink this for me?” He placed the glass against her lips. She sipped it slightly. Tony wasn’t satisfied, so he edged her on. “Come on, kiddo. A bit more.” She didn’t drink anything, so he poured a bit down her throat. She coughed a bit. “Can you open your eyes?” She did slightly, crying out when the light hit her eyes. She grabbed her head. “What’s wrong? Headache?” Tony asked immediately. She nodded. “Does anything else hurt?” She nodded.

“Stomach,” she said quietly. Tony frowned.

“Let’s get you back into bed.” Tony stood, carrying Kyleigh and placing her on the bed. “JARVIS, temperature.”

“99.6, sir,” JARVIS replied. Tony nodded.

“Getting better. Do you need anything?” Tony asked nicely. Kyleigh shook her head softly. “Alright. Get some rest.” Tony turned back to the other three. “Come on Pepper, let’s go back to bed. You two, make sure she doesn’t leave this room.” Tony and Pepper left the room. 

“Come on Bucky. Let’s get off of the floor,” Steve said, standing and helping Bucky up. Bucky laid down next to his sister, moving so that she was laying on his chest. She whimpered.

“What’s wrong baby girl?” he asked quietly. She scrunched her eyes closed and moved to lay on her side. Bucky waited until Kyleigh fell asleep before he did as well.

“Hey, Bucky. Wake up, we have visitors,” Steve said, shaking his friend’s shoulder. Bucky groaned rubbing his eyes.

“Who?” He asked groggily. He opened his eyes and immediately looked down at his sister.

“Thor and Loki.”

“Alright,” Bucky said, moving slowly so that he wouldn’t wake up Kyleigh. They both went to their own rooms, getting ready for the day ahead of them. Bucky walked into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. As he walked in, everyone turned to him.

“Hey, Bucky. How’s Kyleigh?” asked Pepper and she walked over to him. He poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Still asleep.”

“Who is this Kay-lee you speak of?” asked Thor curiously. 

“Her name is Kyleigh. It’s Bucky’s little sister,” Steve answered.

“Well, where is she? I would like to meet her,” Thor said.

“She’s down in the medbay. She’s sick with the flu,” Pepper said, sitting back down beside Tony.

“Is that a Midgardian disease?” asked Thor. 

“Yes,” answered Tony. Then JARVIS came.

“Sir, there is an attack on the coast.”

“Alright everyone, suit up,” Tony instructed.

“If you don’t mind, Loki would like to stay here,” said Thor.

“As long as he doesn’t screw anything up, it’s fine. Now let’s go,” Tony said as he summoned his suit. Once everyone was gone, Loki made his way to the medbay. Once he found the room, he saw two beds pushed close together and a giant lump on the bed furthest from him. He made his way over to the occupied bed slowly. As he approached the bed, he could see a child curled up under many blankets. She was pale but her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was light. He sat down on the side of the bed that was empty, staring at the child. She stirred, rolling onto her back and stretched. She opened her eyes and blankly stared at the tv before looking around. She spotted Loki and jumped off of the bed. Loki was afraid that she was going to hurt herself as she immediately started swaying on her feet. Loki rushed over to her and caught her before she hit the ground, slowly lowering himself until he was sitting on the floor with the child. Once she got her eyesight back, she scrambled away from him, backing up against the bed.

“W-who are you?” she stuttered fearfully. She was shaking.

“I am Loki, Prince of Asgard, the god of mischief. Do not fret, small one. I am here to help you,” he said calmly. Kyleigh looked at him skeptically.

“W-where’s Bucky?” she asked quietly.

“He and the other Avengers have left to go on a mission. He should be back fairly quickly,” Loki answered. “You should get back on the bed. It surely must be much more comfortable than the floor,” he said. She shook her head.

“N-not really. I like my bed better,” she admitted. Loki smiled slightly, glad that she was opening up to him.

“Then why don’t we get you to your bed?” he offered. She thought slightly.

“Y-you don’t have to do that,” she said, pulling herself up using the bed. She sat down slowly, wrapping her arms around her stomach. Loki stood as well. She jumped at his movement, and he moved slower.

“But what if I want too?” he asked. He debated whether he should just approach her or ask first. He decided to ask. “May I come over to you?” he asked kindly, holding his hands out for her to see. “I do not wish to harm you, only help.” He watched as she nodded her head slowly, still apprehensive. He slowly walked over and sat next to her on the bed. Kyleigh watched every movement.

“What do you want with me?” she asked quietly. Loki was taken aback. Did she know about his attack on New York?

“I do not wish to do anything with you. I am here to help. You see, I can do magic. I could make you feel better.” He showed her a bit of magic. She shook her head.

“Everyone wants me for something,” she whispered under her breath. Loki looked at her.

“Come. Show me to your room little one,” he was afraid to touch her, so he just stood up. She watched him stand, then stood on her own. A wave of dizziness overcame her and she almost fell over, but Loki caught her. “What is the matter?” he asked, holding her by her shoulders. She brought her hands to her head.

“‘M dizzy,” she said. Loki frowned and used a bit of his magic, hoping to take the dizziness away.

“Is that better?” he asked, poking his head over her shoulder so she could see him. She nodded.

“Thank you.” She straightened herself, slowly making her way to the door. Loki followed behind, making sure she didn’t fall. They both stepped into the elevator and made their way to Kyleigh’s room. She opened the door, stepping in slowly. The box of legos was still at the foot of her bed and the built sets were in the window. She turned to Loki slowly. “This is my room.” she gestured to the room around her. Loki looked around and smiled.

“Alright, well, I suggest getting into bed before you cause yourself even more harm,” Loki said. He watched as Kyleigh walked over to the bed and sat down slowly.

“Alright,” she said as she moved. She sat down and stared at Loki hesitantly, afraid of what he might do. Loki studied her, looking for signs that she had a fever. She was shaking slightly and she looked pale. The only part of her that had color were her cheeks, as they were flushed. Her eyes were also glossed over. He frowned.

“Are you feeling well?” he asked, walking over to her slowly. She watched his every move. Kyleigh looked down.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” she lied. In reality, she was cold yet hot and her shaking was giving her a headache

“You are lying. What is wrong young one?” Loki asked. She shook her head.

“I’ll be alright.” Loki sighed.

“Are you hungry? I can get you something to eat,” he asked. JARVIS spoke for Kyleigh.

“Prince Loki, Miss Barnes has not eaten in over twelve hours. I recommend giving her a decent-sized meal, as she has not eaten much.” Loki looked at the child.

“Alright. Thank you. What would you like?” he asked. Kyleigh shook her head again.

“I’m not that hungry.”

“You have to eat to live, child. I will order what you midgardians call a ‘pizza.’” Loki started towards the door, but stopped and turned around. “And stay here. Don’t go wandering off.” He proceeded to the kitchen where he found a phone and ordered a cheese pizza. When it arrived, Loki turned to bring it to Kyleigh’s room, but he saw her sitting on the couch watching tv. “I thought I told you not to move,” Loki said as he sat the pizza down on the coffee table. She looked at him and cowered into the couch.

“I-I didn’t want to b-be alone. I-I don’t like it,” she muttered, looking down. Loki sighed and sat down next to her. She jumped slightly and moved to the other side of the couch.

“All you had to do was tell me, little one, and I would not have left you alone. Now, eat.” Kyleigh looked at the pizza and smiled. Loki was confused.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked. She gave a small laugh and walked to the kitchen. Loki waited until she came back with paper plates. She sat them down on the pizza box and stared at Loki. “Well, eat child,” he said. She slowly looked away and grabbed a piece of pizza, sitting it on a plate and laying it on her lap. Loki wondered why she wouldn’t eat, then decided it might help if he ate as well. He picked up a piece of pizza and sat on a plate, taking a bite out of it. Kyleigh watched him, then slowly ate her pizza. After making her eat a few slices, Loki was finally satisfied and took the rest of the pizza to the kitchen, setting it on the counter. He came back in with two glasses of water, handing one to Kyleigh. They both sat and watched tv. Loki didn’t care much for Midgardian entertainment, but he did enjoy  _ The Middle.  _ After the first few episodes, he looked over to see that Kyleigh was curled up in the corner of the couch, shivering. 

“Are you cold, young one?” he asked. She looked over to him and shook her head.

“No, it’s just this stupid fever. I’m hot and cold at the same time,” she said quietly.

“Well, you should rest then. I’ve heard Thor say that always helps with Midgardian diseases,” Loki said. She shook her head.

“‘M not tired,” she mumbled. Loki looked at her skeptically.

“I highly doubt that. Now, lie down and rest.” He watched as she stayed curled up but moved so that her head was resting on the armrest. Loki stood and retrieved a blanket from the closet in the hallway. He covered her up, feeling her for a temperature. At least that’s what Kyleigh thought. When Loki placed his hand on her head, she instantly became sleepy, her eyes closed and she fell asleep. Once Loki saw that she was asleep, he grabbed his book from his bag and sat criss-cross in a chair adjacent to the couch.


	13. Chapter 13

The Avengers arrived back at the tower, completing the mission. The first thing Bucky did was go to the medbay to check on his sister. He walked over to the beds, but they were both empty. He grew worried that something might have happened but then decided to go check her room. It was empty as well. He made his way to his room, changing and looking to see if Kyleigh was in there. At this point, he was very concerned and worried. He decided to see if she was with Steve. Bucky knocked on his friend’s door, poking his head in. Steve was sitting at his desk but turned around when he heard Bucky knock.

“Hey, Buck. What’s up?” Steve asked, turning his chair to face his friend. He then noticed the worried look on his face. Steve frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Is Kyleigh in here with you? I can’t find her,” Bucky said, stepping into the room. Steve shook his head.

“Sorry Buck, she isn’t in here. I’m sure she’s just in her room.”

“I already checked. She isn’t in the medbay, her room, or my room. I don’t know where she is,” Bucky admitted worriedly. Steve stood.

“Then why don’t you ask JARVIS. JARVIS, where is Kyleigh?” Steve asked.

JARVIS responded, “Miss Barnes is in the lounging area. I suggest being quiet, she is asleep.”

“Thank you JARVIS,” Steve said.

“No problem, Captain Rogers.” Steve and Bucky both made their way to the lounging area where they saw Kyleigh asleep on the couch. Bucky decided to let her sleep, so he and Steve walked into the kitchen. Everyone else was there, eating pizza.

“Hey capsicle, we ordered pizza!” Tony exclaimed, taking a huge bite out of his pizza slice. Steve smiled and grabbed a slice of his own and sat down with Bucky at the table with the others.

Nine o’clock rolled around and everyone decided to go off and do their own thing. Bucky walked into the lounging area to wake Kyleigh up so she could eat. He crouched down in front of her and shook her shoulder slightly. “Kyleigh. Hey kiddo, I’m home.” She didn’t respond. “Come on now, doll. It’s nine o’clock. You need to eat.” He shook her shoulder a bit harder. He grew worried. “Kyleigh?” He checked her pulse and it was normal. She was still breathing, so she should be ok, right? Her temperature wasn’t too hot in Bucky’s opinion. Thor walked in and saw Bucky’s worry.

“What is the matter, soldier of winter?” he asked. Bucky grimaced. He didn’t like that name. Thor looked at the couch. “Is this your sister?” Bucky nodded.

“Yeah, but she isn’t waking up. This isn’t like her. She’s usually a light sleeper.” Thor frowned and kneeled down by Kyleigh’s head. He softly opened one of her eyes to see that it was bright green.

“Loki!” he boomed. With a flash of green light, Loki appeared.

“Yes brother?” he asked blankly. Thor motioned to the child on the couch.

“Wake her up,” he commanded. Loki rolled his eyes as he sighed, walking over and placing his hand on Kyleigh’s forehead. She shot up, eyes wide. She looked around to see Bucky, Loki, and another man beside her. Her breath quickened and her eyes were wild. She moved back, climbing over the side of the couch and away from the group.

“W-who are you?” she stuttered, looking over at Thor.

“I am Thor, the god of thunder,” he said. She looked over to her brother and Loki as if asking if he was safe. Loki nodded. She relaxed slightly and made her way towards Bucky who wrapped his arms around her.

“Are you ok? Did he do anything to you?” he asked frantically, looking over her to see if she was hurt anywhere. She pushed him off of her and then leaned against him.

“I did not cause any harm to her, Barnes. I only watched over her,” Loki said. Bucky turned to him.

“Yeah? Well, you just made it to where she wouldn’t wake up. What if your magic didn’t work? What if you  _ did _ cause harm to her?” he said angrily. Kyleigh pulled on his shirt to turn him back around.

“Bucky,” she said quietly, trying to get his attention. He turned to her, his eyes filled with anger.

“Not right now, Kyleigh,” he growled. He turned back to Loki. Kyleigh tried to pull him back again.

“Bucky, I’m fine. Leave him alone.” He whipped back around.

“I said not right now. Be quiet!” He yelled at her.

“Stop. You are scaring her,” Loki warned. Bucky went to hit Loki, but Kyleigh grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Bucky, please,” she pleaded.

“I told you to be quiet. Shut up!” he yelled as he whipped around and smacked her across the face with his metal arm. She fell back, collapsing on the glass coffee table. It crushed under the sudden weight, glass cutting Kyleigh’s arm in several different places. She looked up to see the regret in Bucky’s eyes. “Kyleigh,” he said quietly, moving towards his sister, but everyone watched as she disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. “Oh my god,” he whispered. Steve ran into the room.

“What’s going on in here?” he asked, looking around the room. The table was smashed and there were drops of blood on the floor. Bucky looked like he was about to snap, and Thor and Loki were shocked. “What happened?”

“Lady Kyleigh disappeared!” Thor exclaimed. Steve looked confused.

“What?” he asked. He watched as Bucky ran out of the room. “What do you mean?”

Loki started to explain. “While you were gone, all of you, I watched over the Midgardian child. She came up here. I had her rest under a spell so that she would sleep. I woke her just recently and Barnes thought that I had caused harm to the child. He proceeded to get angry with her and hit her into the table. She used some sort of magic to leave.” Steve nodded.

“Alright. I’m going to go check on Bucky.” He left the room. Loki went to leave, but Thor stopped him.

“Where are you going brother?” he asked. Loki turned back.

“I am going to go find the child.” Loki left the room with a flash of green light.

Kyleigh ended up in an old building. “Where am I?” she asked herself quietly. The building was old and run down, dust covering everything. There were holes in the walls and parts of the building were thrown everywhere. She sucked in a deep breath when she moved her arm, blood running and dripping off of her fingertips. She teared up, remembering what her brother did. She found a small hidden hole in the middle of the room and crawled into it, crying. She didn’t want to go back. No one ever wanted her anyway, or at least that’s what she thought. She held her breath when she heard footsteps come into the room.

“Hello? Kyleigh? Are you in here?” It sounded like Steve. Kyleigh quickly got out of the hole, looking for Steve.

“Steve?” she called out. “Where are you?”

“Right here.” A figure came out of the shadows, and it wasn’t Steve.

“Y-you’re not Steve,” she said, backing away. The figure grinned.

“You’re right, fallen guard. I’m here to bring you back to HYDRA.” Kyleigh gasped.

“N-no. I’m not going back,” she stuttered. A figure came from behind her and covered her mouth with one hand and grabbed her waist with the other. She started screaming and kicking, trying to get away.

“Let go of her!” They all looked over to see Loki, outraged. The first figure pulled out a remote with one single button on it.

“Take another step and this place will crumble, with both of you in it.” Kyleigh looked at Loki, eyes pleading for help. “Leave and we’ll take her, move and we’ll kill her.” Loki took a step forward and the agent pressed the button, him and the other agent disappearing out of thin air. The building started to shake. Kyleigh fell to the ground. A piece of the ceiling fell in between Loki and Kyleigh. She let out a scream.

“Loki!”

“Hold on, young one.” He managed to grab her hand and get her out of there milliseconds before another piece of the roof caved in right where she was. He teleported them out into a hidden field. He held Kyleigh to his chest, her back against him. His arms were around her waist and chest. She was holding on to his arm around her chest. Loki slid his back down a tree slowly, sitting both of them down. Kyleigh was shaking terribly, tears silently streaming down her face. They sat on the ground in silence.

“It’s ok. You’re ok. We’re alright,” Loki whispered to her. “I have you now.” He saw that blood was still running down her arms. He moved her slowly so that he could take her arms. He held her arm with one hand and ran his other up and down her arms. The glass was removed and the cuts turned to scars. Kyleigh was still visibly shaking, trembling in Loki’s grip. She curled in on herself, sobbing. Loki picked her up, pulling her close to him. She cried until she started gagging. Loki moved so that she was sitting on the ground. “Calm down, young one.” He watched in pure terror as blood trickled down the side of her mouth. “What’s going on?”

“It’s fine. It happens all the time. I need to get back home,” she said. Loki nodded, grabbing her and transporting them both into her room. She shot up, stumbling over to her bed and grabbing a container, drinking from it. The blood stopped and she ran to the bathroom, wiping the blood from her face.

“What is going on? Why are you bleeding?” Loki asked, turning her to face him. She looked down.

“It’s a long story,” she said quietly.

“We have time,” he said. “Let’s sit.” He pulled both of them over to the bed, sitting them down, him across from her. She grabbed a pillow and set it in her lap.

“Well, during the war, Bucky was captured by HYDRA and turned into the Winter Soldier. He came back home and took me to a HYDRA base where they turned me into something like the winter soldier. They called me the fallen guard. They took me to a different HYDRA base here in America, down in southern Indiana where they put me in cryofreeze. Apparently they did the same to Bucky, but they unfroze him way before me. I lived in Indiana for a while after I escaped HYDRA, but part of me is still a part of them. I have trigger words, just like Bucky. But the punishment I served was that I constantly bleed, whether it’s nosebleeds or I cough it up. But I have a serum that makes it stop. Doctor Banner made more, and it works better. It delays all the bleeding,” she explained. Loki just sat and listened, not interrupting. There was a moment of silence and he concluded that she didn’t want to talk anymore.

“Alright. Well, I’ll make sure to carry some of this around with me then.” Kyleigh hugged her pillow. “You should get some rest.” She shot her head up, shaking it.

“N-no. I don’t want to,” she stuttered. Loki looked at her sadly, lifting his hand to her head. She got off the bed, running over to the corner of the room. “N-no. Don’t use your magic.”

“You have to sleep, small one,” Loki said softly.

“No. I can’t sleep,” she argued.

“You haven’t tried,” Loki argues back. Kyleigh shook her head again.

“L-Loki. I physically can’t sleep. I-I have nightmares that haunt me constantly,” she confessed. Loki was taken aback. This poor child was so young, yet had been through so much.

“Please, come here,” Loki pleaded. She hesitated, sitting back down on the bed. “Will you at least try to sleep. I will stay here and wake you if anything goes wrong,” he offered. She nodded hesitantly.

“I-I guess.” She grabbed a sweatshirt and leggings and went to the bathroom, changing. As she did so, Loki made himself comfortable in the window, settling down with his book. Kyleigh came back out and got into bed, falling asleep quite quickly. 

When 3’oclock hit, things started to get worrisome. Loki was right in the middle of the climax of his story when he heard shuffling from under him. He moved to look over the edge where he saw Kyleigh tossing and turning, murmuring to herself. Loki frowned and hopped down onto the bed, stopping Kyeigh from moving. 

“Wake, young one,” he said gently. She continued to try and move, eyes scrunched closed. Loki decided that he would use magic to wake her up. He placed his hand on her head, murmuring a spell. She shot up, screaming. She curled into a ball, screaming incoherent words. “It is alright, little one,” Loki said, trying to comfort the child. He tried another spell, which made her stop screaming, but she was breathing heavily, trying not to cry. Loki pulled her to his side, whispering soft nothings into her ear. She finally calmed down enough to talk. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked quietly. She shook her head. “It’ll make you feel better.” She leaned against him.

“I wanna go outside,” she said shakily. Loki nodded, helping her stand and keeping her against his side as they snuck out on the balcony. It seemed as though the only way she was moving was if she was putting most of her weight on Loki himself. They made their way outside where Loki sat her on the ground, sitting beside her. She moved so she could lay her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his left arm around her, pulling her close. They sat there for a while, enjoying the silence and the view. The balcony looked over a giant lake and forest with the stars shining bright. Loki looked over to see that Kyleigh was asleep, breathing softly. He smirked, picking her up and carrying her to her room. Loki laid her down on her bed, sitting next to her. He made sure that she knew that he was still there, keeping a firm hold of her hand. He laid down beside her, locked the door, and fell asleep himself.

When Loki awoke, he was alone. He could hear the shower running, so he only assumed Kyleigh was in the bathroom. He sat up, disheveled. He quickly made his way to the room that the Avengers had assigned him, taking a quick shower of his own. When he made his way back to Kyleigh’s room, Thor stopped him. “Brother! You have returned! Where is Lady Kyleigh?” he exclaimed. Loki looked at him calmly.

“She is safe brother. But I would like her to be left alone,” he responded. Loki then teleported to Kyleigh’s room, waiting for her.

** _Meanwhile with Bucky, after he runs off…._ **

Bucky ran back to his room, angry and upset with himself. How could he cause harm to his sister… again?! He saw the blood running down her arm and the look on her face. She was terrified of him. He started pacing around in his room when Steve came in.

“Bucky? Hey, what happened?” he asked calmly, laying his hand on Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky turned to him.

“I-I hit Kyleigh. She’s gone,” realization hit him, his eyes widening. “She’s gone, god she’s gone! I have to go find her. She might be in trouble.” Bucky started panicking, running around and gathering several different things before trying to leave the room, but Steve stopped him.

“Buck, calm down. We’ll find her, but you need to calm down first.” He nodded, taking a deep breath and sitting on his bed. “Alright. Now, let’s go ask Thor and Loki if they can help. Loki could probably track her.” The two left the room in search of Thor and Loki. They went to the lounging area to see that Thor was cleaning the glass and throwing it into a small bin. “Hey, Thor. Where’s Loki?” asked Steve. Thor looked up at the two soldiers.

“Loki has left in search of Lady Kyleigh,” he responded, turning back to the broken glass.

“Oh no. I don’t trust him around her,” Bucky said, getting upset again. Thor stood, placing a hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

“I assure you, soldier of winter, Loki is not who he used to be. I can tell he cares for Lady Kyleigh. He will not cause any harm to her,” Thor encouraged. Bucky huffed.

“Alright, well. Come on Bucky. Go to bed. You need to rest. We’ll check in with Loki in the morning,” Steve said. Bucky nodded hesitantly, turning to go to his room.

** _With Thor the next morning…_ **

He rushed into the kitchen with exciting news. “Soldier of Winter, Loki has found Lady Kyleigh!” he said happily. Bucky’s head shot up. 

“What?” he asked.

“Loki has found Lady Kyleigh,” Thor said again. Bucky stood up quickly, rushing to Thor.

“Where is she? Is she ok? I need to see her,” Bucky said quickly.

“Loki said that she is alright, but he wishes she be left alone,” Thor said.

“Where is she?” Bucky asked again.

“I don’t know,” Thor admitted.

“LOKI!” Bucky exclaimed, running down the hall. Loki appeared right in front of Bucky out of thin air.

“Yes?” he asked skeptically.

“Where’s Kyleigh?” Bucky asked frantically.

“She is in a safe place. I assure you, Barnes. She is alright physically,” Loki said.

“What do you mean,  _ physically _ ?!” Bucky exclaimed. Loki sighed.

“I am afraid that mental damage has been done,” he said.

“What  _ kind _ of mental damage?” Bucky asked, irritated.

“It is a complicated answer, Mr. Barnes. But you have to think, after all she has been through…” Bucky took a moment to think about that, then stared at Loki.

“I want to see my sister,” Bucky said slowly. Loki sighed.

“I will ask.” He disappeared and reappeared within a matter of seconds. “I will allow you to see your sister, but I must be in the room,” Loki responded. Bucky growled.

“Fine.” Loki lead Bucky to Kyleigh’s door, opening it slowly. Kyleigh was at her desk on the laptop. She turned and fear filled her eyes as she spotted Bucky. Loki walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders standing behind her. “Kyleigh…” Bucky whispered. She looked at him fearfully, pressing herself into her chair.

“Bucky,” she said under her breath. He noticed the scars on her arms from the glass. He took a step forward, but Kyleigh’s heart rate picked up as well as her breathing. She stood quickly taking a step back. Loki made sure he kept a hold of her just in case she fell, and so she knew that he was still there.

“I’m so sorry,” Bucky confessed, seeing the way she acted around him. “I never should have hit you. You never should have gone through that.” He started to tear up but stayed strong for himself, Kyleigh, and so Loki couldn’t see him cry.

“But you did. Do you know how much you’ve hurt me since I’ve been here?” she asked, flustered. “I just don’t know if I can trust you anymore,” she whispered, silent tears falling down her face. Bucky’s heart broke. She didn’t trust him anymore. “P-Please, just leave.”

“B-But--”

“You heard her, she would like you to leave,” Loki interrupted Bucky. Bucky glared at him but nodded sadly, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Kyleigh stared at the door before all-out sobbing. She fell to her knees, burying her face into her hands. Loki fell beside her, rubbing her back with one hand and holding her arm with another. “It is alright small one,” he said in an effort to comfort her. Once she was calm enough to speak, he helped her up. “Come, let us go for a walk.” Kyleigh nodded and Loki transported them outside. They began walking down a trail into the woods in silence.


	14. Chapter 14

Silent tears trailed down Bucky’s face as he shakily made his way to his room, his breath shaking. He closed the door behind him and sat down on his bed.  _ Why did I ever hit her? Why did I even go anywhere near her? All I do is-- _ there was a knock at his door.

“Bucky? It’s Steve. Can I come in?” Bucky’s head shot up.

“In a minute,” he called, running to the bathroom to try to look more presentable. Once he was done he opened to door, smiling weakly. Steve looked at him then frowned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, coming into the room. Bucky closed the door, turning to face him.

“What do you mean?” he asked, trying to look confused.

“You’ve been crying. Did something happen between you and Kyleigh?” Steve asked, laying a hand on his friend’s shoulder. Bucky’s voice shook with his answer.

“Sh-She doesn’t trust me anymore,” he said quietly. Steve looked upset.

“Just give her time, Buck. I’m sure she’ll come around eventually. Where is she? I would like to see her,” Steve asked. He knew that all Bucky needed was time at the moment, so he needed to be left alone.

“Sh-she and Loki were in her room,” he answered. Steve nodded. He patted Bucky’s shoulder and left the room. Steve walked across the hall to Kyleigh’s door and knocked. There was no answer.

“Kyleigh? It’s me, Steve. Can I come in?” Still no answer. He carefully opened the door, but there was no one there. “JARVIS, where did Loki and Kyleigh go?” Steve asked.

“I believe they went for a walk,” responded JARVIS. Steve nodded.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, Captain Rogers.” Steve left to go work out in the gym.

Kyleigh and Loki walked in silence for almost an hour. “How are you feeling?” asked Loki, looking over at Kyleigh. She looked at him, shrugging.

“Ok I guess,” she answered. Loki frowned, reaching out to stop them from moving.

“What is bothering you, young one?” he asked. She looked away from him.

“It’s just, everyone I meet either end up hating me or using me for something. It’s just a matter of time before you hate me too,” she explained quietly. Loki lifted her chin so that she could look him in the eye.

“Trust me, young one. I will never use you or hate you, alright?” he said. She nodded sadly.

“Alright.”

“Good. Now, let’s head back so you can eat.” The two made their way back to the tower.

When they got back to the tower, Loki dropped Kyleigh off in her room and left to find lunch for the two of them. He decided that they both could eat fruit, so he quickly cut fruit into two bowls and made his way back to Kyleigh’s room. “Here, small one.” He handed her the bowl. She thanked him quietly, eating her lunch. Loki sat down in the office chair, looking at her every now and then to make sure she was still eating. “By the way, I have to leave for a bit to go to a meeting with Thor. Can I trust you to stay here by yourself?” he asked gently. Kyleigh looked up at him.

“Yeah, I guess,” she said quietly. Loki collected the bowls.

“Alright. I must go. If you need anything, and I mean anything at all, take this stone,” Loki handed her a small green stone, “and rub it. It will let me know that you need me, and I will come here as soon as possible,” Loki explained. Kyleigh nodded. Loki used his magic to leave the room. Kyleigh sat on the bed for a few minutes before moving to open the giant box of legos, continuing from where she left off.

“Come on Buck, we need to go,” Steve urged, worried that they would be late for their meeting. He noticed the look in Bucky’s eyes. “Alright. How about we make a deal. If you come to the meeting, I’ll try to talk to Kyleigh when we get back.” Bucky nodded, turning slowly to get into one of Tony’s cars. He got in, seeing that Loki was there as well. In fact, he was sitting right next to Bucky, Thor sitting in the seat behind them. They sat in silence until Bucky decided to try to talk to him.

“How is she?” he asked under his breath. Loki looked at him skeptically.

“She is doing just fine,” he answered, turning back to look out the window. The rest of the car ride was silent.

Kyleigh built legos for about an hour. She decided to stop when her back and legs hurt from hunching over the piles of legos on the floor. She stood, grabbing her phone and heading into the lounging area. She started to turn on the tv when her phone rang.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Hello little one,” came the voice from the other side of the phone call.

“Loki?” she asked, glad to hear his voice. “Why are you calling me on Steve’s phone?”

“Now that all of us are here together, we have a few things to say about you,” Loki said in a menacing voice.

“Wh-what do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, for starters, you’re a pain in the ---,” Tony said.

“What?” she asked, tearing up.

“And you’re too needy,” Bucky said.

“Please, stop,” Kyleigh whimpered.

“You never should have survived that suicide attempt,” Bruce said. Kyleigh started sobbing. “I never should have helped you.”

“You should try again. Lord knows that it would put all of us out of our misery,” Natasha said. Kyleigh hung up, chucking her phone against the wall, shattering at the impact. She curled into a ball, sobbing.  _ I knew it was only a matter of time before everyone started to hate me.  _ She hastily ran and tried to go outside, but the front doors clicked, locking. 

“JARVIS, open this door!” Kyleigh screamed, banging against it.

“I am sorry, Miss Barnes, but I am afraid that I can not do so. What you are about to do is very unwise,” JARVIS responded.

“JARVIS!” She screamed again. She started to run to the elevator, but it wouldn’t open either.

“I am contacting help,” JARVIS stated.

“No!” She sobbed. Kyleigh started to try to break out of the room she was trapped in. She banged on the glass, tried to pry open the doors, throwing sharp objects at the walls. She shakily took the stone that Loki gave her from her pocket, throwing it across the room.

“Sir, you need to return to the tower immediately,” JARVIS came through the speakers in the car.

“Why?” asked Tony.

“Miss Barnes needs help,” JARVIS responded.

“What is wrong?” asked Loki, worried.

“She is trying to escape. I sense that she is on the verge of a panic attack.” Loki quickly tried to use his magic to leave the car, but it didn’t work. Tony turned around and broke almost every traffic law in the book, making it to the tower in 20 minutes instead of an hour. Loki burst out of the car, running to the doors. He didn’t even try to open them. He just used his magic to throw them open, eyes searching frantically for the small child. He spotted her sobbing, slumped up against a wall on her side. He rushed to her, moving so that he could look at her eyes.

“What is wrong young one?” he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She jerked back, burying her face in her hands. All of the others rushed over to them.

“Where is the danger?” asked Thor, summoning his hammer. Steve turned to look at Bucky, but all he did was back up and look at his sister, upset that he couldn’t help her. Steve dropped down next to Loki.

“What’s wrong Kyleigh?” he asked, looking at her, concern written across his face. She looked across the room at all of them.

“Don’t lie to me!” she screamed, jumping up and covering her ears. “It’s all a lie! You’re lying to me!” Both Loki and Steve stood, Loki reaching an arm out to her.

“What do you mean?” asked Tony. She shook her head. “JARVIS, what happened?”

“Miss Barnes received a call about an hour after you left. The caller impersonated the voices of the Avengers, saying terrible things,” JARVIS explained.

“What kind of terrible things?” asked Bucky.

“Here is the phone call,” JARVIS said.

_ “Hello?” asked Kyleigh. _

_ “Hello little one,” said a voice that sounded strangely like Loki. _

_ “Loki?” Kyleigh had asked. “Why are you calling me on Steve’s phone?” _

_ “Now that all of us are here together, we have a few things to say about you,” ‘Loki’ said. _

_ “Wh-what do you mean?” she stuttered. _

_ “Well, for starters, you’re a pain in the ---,” Tony said.  _

“I never said that!” The real tony exclaimed.

_ “What?” _

_ “And you’re too needy,” Bucky said. _

“I would never say that,” he whispered, looking to see if anyone believed him.

_ “Please, stop.” They could hear that Kyleigh was getting upset. What they heard next broke all of them. _

_ “You never should have survived that suicide attempt. I never should have helped you.” Kyleigh was sobbing in the background.  _

“That’s not true!” exclaimed Bruce. “Who would ever say that?”

_ “You should try again. Lord knows that it would put all of us out of our misery.”  _ The phone call ended.

“Who was that?” asked Tony.

“I have traced the call, but it appears that it was never made. I can not seem to find an exact location,” JARVIS responded. Loki slowly approached Kyleigh. When she didn’t move away from him, he wrapped his arms around her, turning her so that she was ‘lying’ on him. He rubbed her back gently, looking to the others.

“I am going to take her for a walk to try and calm her down,” he said, looking down at the upset child. “Come, little one.” He gently led her outside and down the walking trail.

“JARVIS, get someone down here to clean this up,” Tony ordered, taking the elevator with the others up to the living room. They walked in to see parts of Kyleigh’s phone spread all over the floor from where she threw it. Steve walked over and started to pick up the broken pieces, examining them. He stood.

“Do you think you could try to find the location of the phone call from these pieces?” he asked Tony, handing them to him.

“I can try,” he said. “I’m going to go to the lab and try to piece things together.” Tony left the room. Steve went to go start lunch, cutting up fruit for Kyleigh and getting her a glass of orange juice.

“JARVIS, tell Loki that lunch is ready,” Cap said, setting the food at the table and Kyleigh and Loki’s food on the island. The two came in a few minutes later. Loki had his arms wrapped around her so she wouldn’t fall, and Steve would believe it. Kyleigh looked absolutely terrible.  Her eyes were red and puffy and her hair was in a messy ponytail. Just by looking at her you could tell that she didn’t feel well. Steve smiled at her sadly. “Hey, Kyleigh.” She looked at him slightly and followed as Loki guided her over to the island. He helped her sit and made sure she started to eat before he stood by Steve.

“I managed to use a bit of magic to calm her, but I don’t know how long it will last,” Loki whispered. Steve nodded.

“As long as she eats, we can deal with it later.” They both sat down on either side of Kyleigh, eating their own lunch. Kyleigh finished her fruit and tossed the plastic bowl across the room, landing it in the sink. Loki and Steve shot up when they heard the loud clinking sound, jumping up from their seats until they realized that it was just Kyleigh.

“Why don’t you go take a shower, hm Kyleigh?” asked Steve. She nodded as Loki followed her to her room.

Loki helped Kyleigh to her room, making sure she didn’t do anything she might regret later. He watched as she grabbed a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom. Loki sat in the office chair, reading a book when he sensed someone in the doorway. It was Bucky, leaning against the door frame.

“Can I help you?” Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Is she ok?” Bucky asked quietly, nodding his head towards the bathroom. Loki closed his book.

“I am not sure. She refuses to speak.” They turned to the bathroom when they heard the shower turn off.

“Can I try to talk to her?” Bucky asked. Loki looked at him.

“At a later date, yes. But I hope that she will sleep when she comes back.” The door clicked open and Kyleigh walked out with a hairbrush in her hand. Bucky and her made eye contact.

“Alright. I have to go,” Bucky said sadly, turning to leave the room. Kyleigh watched him leave as Loki stood, gently taking the brush from her hand and setting it on the desk.

“Come, little one. You need to rest.” Loki lead her over to her bed, setting her down. She moved to sit against the headboard, staring at Loki. He sighed. “Would you like me to sit with you?” he asked. She nodded. Loki moved to the other side of the bed, sitting beside her and leaning against the wall. Kyleigh moved to lay her head on his shoulder, staring at his book as he read. When he finished the chapter he was on, he looked over to see that Kyleigh was asleep in his shoulder. He smiled, moving her so that she was in a more comfortable position but still knew that he was there. Once he finished another chapter, he decided to rest as well.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, everyone! This is the last chapter of this book. I hope you all have enjoyed it and I want to thank you for reading, it really means a lot to me that people are actually reading my work. Btw, I have news at the end...

Tony ordered several pizzas for dinner. The Avengers decided to have a movie night in hopes to calm Kyleigh down and get her mind off of things as Tony tried to track the phone call’s location. Bucky went to go get Loki and Kyleigh. He walked in to see both of them asleep. Bucky walked over and placed a hand on Loki’s shoulder, waking him immediately. Loki went to sit up quickly but remembered that Kyleigh was asleep beside him. He looked over to see Bucky.

“Steve says it’s time for dinner. Everyone agreed to a movie night to try and distract Kyleigh for a bit,” Bucky explained. Loki nodded, looking over to the child beside him. Bucky walked over to the other side of the bed and picked her up gently. Both men walked into the lounging area where Bucky sat down on the couch, keeping Kyleigh against him as he ate dinner. Loki sat down next to his brother on the other side of the couch so he could see Kyleigh. Wanda came over and sat down next to Bucky.

“I have brought pizza for Kyleigh when she wakes up,” she said, sitting the pizza down on the coffee table in front of them.

“Thank you, Wanda,” Bucky said, turning back to watch Steve try and start the tv.

“How do you-- oh! There we go!” Steve exclaimed once the TV was on. “What are we watching first?” Clint walked in with a movie in his hand.

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!” he said happily, tossing it to Steve. He smiled, putting in the disk. Once the movie started, everyone sat around the TV. Natasha moved over to sit next to Bucky. They secretly liked each other, but no one knew about it. They hadn’t even told each other they liked the other. Bucky glanced at her, blushed, then looked back at the tv.

Kyleigh was awake enough to the point where she could hear everything around her and feel, but not awake enough to be fully awake. She could tell that Harry Potter was on and she wasn’t in her bed. She was laying on someone. Loki? Possibly. Kyleigh moved, adjusting herself and sighing. She opened her eyes to see that she was laying against her brother, Bucky. Oh, how she missed him. She smiled and leaned into him more. Bucky looked down to see that Kyleigh was smiling. 

He smiled as well, leaning down to whisper,” Dinner’s ready if you want some. Tony ordered pizza.” Kyleigh opened her eyes to look at him, sitting up slowly. Bucky helped her, handing her her plate. Kyleigh slid off of his lap and sat next to him, eating her pizza slowly. She spotted Loki watching from across from her, smiling slightly. She smiled back mouthing  _ thank you. _ He nodded, turning back to the movie. Kyleigh leaned against her brother as she ate her pizza. She stood, setting the plate in the sink and setting back down by Bucky. After the first movie ended, Steve stood to put in the second movie. Natasha and Bucky left to make more popcorn, so Kyleigh went and sat by Loki. He turned to her.

“I see that you have forgiven James,” he said, smiling. Kyleigh smiled as well.

“I missed him,” she said quietly, looking down. They both watched as Steve turned on the second Harry Potter movie, sitting back down in his original spot. Bucky and Natasha walked back in and passed out the popcorn, sitting on the very far edge of the couch together, Natasha laying on Bucky’s shoulder. Kyleigh looked over at them and smiled. Loki noticed what she was looking at.

“You can go sit with your brother,” Loki said, hoping that he wasn’t keeping her away from Bucky. She looked at him.

“No, I’m fine. Besides, I think they need some alone time.” Thor finally realized who Loki was talking to.

“Hello! Lady Kyleigh. How are you doing this fine evening?” he asked. Kyleigh giggled.

“I’m alright. How are you Thor?” she asked. He smiled.

“I am doing fine myself, thank you.” About halfway through the movie, Kyleigh left to get a blanket, deciding on the one that Pepper had bought her. She covered herself with her blanket and sat down next to Loki. He threw an arm around her and pulled her over so that she could rest against his side. When the movie finally finished, Loki looked down to see that Kyleigh was half asleep.

“Would you like me to escort you to bed?” he leaned down and whispered. She nodded. Both of them stood, making their way to Kyleigh’s room. Loki watched as she climbed into bed. “Goodnight little one. I will be in the lounging room if you need me,” he said quietly. She nodded. Loki smiled, turning to leave. Kyleigh fell asleep.

“Soldier.”

“Kill.”

“Destroy.” Kyleigh woke up with a start.

“What? Who’s there?” she called out.

“Fire.”

“No!” she screamed.

“Building.”

“Stop!”

“Slovakia.”

“Storm.” Kyleigh’s eyes turned a deep brown, along with her hair. “Soldier?”

“Ready to comply,” she said in a monotone voice.

“Return to HYDRA base,” the voice proceeded to give a series of coordinates.

“Roger that.” Kyleigh stood, using her special HYDRA powers to transform into her HYDRA Fallen Guard suit, jumping out of the window and into the darkness.

  
**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I said I had news for you all. Well... I'm writing a sequel!! My friends like the way it is going, so hopefully you will too. I don't know when it will be posted because I'm tackling 600 things at once so it might be a while before that it posted. Thank you for all of the support and I hope you enjoyed this story!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that's chapter 1! Please leave a comment telling me what you think. This story is finished so I will be posting a chapter whenever I can, just not all at the same time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!


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